Monday, February 10, 2020

Wk.5- To Fed is Glorious, But to Cup is Divine

Is that a Schmiedy you're tossing about, or are you just happy to be playing Fed Cup?






*A DOZEN THINGS THAT WERE GOOD DURING THE FIRST WEEK OF FED CUP IN 2020*
1. Belarusian nerves in the middle of a Fed Cup fire


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2. "In Rinaldi We Trust": Season 4, Episode 1 (even with that unnecessarily nail biting cliffhanger before the final commercial break)


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5. The effort and desire of the Latvian Fed Cup team. Well, the two-woman head of the never-say-die (even if it's inevitble) beast, at least.
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3. Spanish woman on red clay


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4. The Bracelet (still) being in the building... and looking like her old Serbian Good Luck Charm self all over again

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6. The Russian and Italian Fed Cup machines' attempts to repair and rebuild themselves on the fly. So far, so good.
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7. The crystal ball vision of the standing of the Ukrainian Fed Cup effort at this time one year from now. Perhaps.


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8. Danish tennis in the post-Caro era?
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9. Schmiedy!!

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10. An Argentinian Fed Cup savior?
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11. A Kiwi tennis pipeline?
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12. The Day When Iga Rules the Earth (and the usual Fed Cup jumpy-circle thing)


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*SEVEN THAT WEREN'T*
1. The reality that while there is an "A" and "M" in T-E-A-M, there are no "N's," "O's" or "I's." Just ask the Japanese Fed Cup team.
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2. Romania and Great Britain squandering an opportunity either long desired or assiduously earned
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3. While *winning* Fed Cup ties can sometimes seem to become a habit, so can losing them. Just ask the Dutch Fed Cup team.
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4. Serena Williams as a "sure thing" in Fed Cup play
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5. The notion of Kazakhstan *ever* overcoming its checkered Fed Cup history of underachievement
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6. Elina Svitolina when fate is on the line
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7. A belief that *all* of Canada's best female tennis players will ever be healthy and in form at the same time. Apparently, "Peak Canuck" just does not exist.
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kosova-font







*WEEK 5*
=Qualifying 1st Round=

Aliaksandra Sasnovich, BLR

=Zone Promotion Finals=

Dayana Yastremska, UKR
[Europe/Africa I at EST] Ukraine def. Estonia 2-1 [dd]
[Europe/Africa I at EST] Italy def. Croatia 2-0
[Europe/Africa I at LUX] Serbia def. Slovenia 2-1 [dd]
[Europe/Africa I at LUX] Poland def. Sweden 2-0
[Americas I at CHI] Argentina def. Colombia 2-0
[Americas I at CHI] Mexico def. Paraguay 2-1 [dd]
[Asia/Oceania II at NZL] New Zealand def. Philippines 2-1
[Europe/Africa II at FIN] Georgia def. Finland 2-1 [dd]
[Europe/Africa II at FIN] Denmark def. Tunisia 2-1 [dd]




[Qualifying Round]

United States def. Latvia 3-2 [dd]
[Everett, Washington USA / HCI]
...despite having a packed roster, the U.S. flirted with becoming just the second team to blow a 2-0 lead at home in World Group I competition (2015 1r: FRA d. ITA) when Serena Williams' 14-0 career FC record was finally sullied in Match #4 by Anastasija Sevastova, sending the tie to the deciding doubles. But proving the value of depth, astute roster compilation, and that she is not a carbon copy of her U.S. team captain predecessor, Kathy Rinaldi said, "Don't worry. I have a plan for that."

[co-MVPs]
Sofia Kenin/Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA
...just call them the "clean up crew." Blessed with many options to choose from, after Friday's 2-0 lead had eroded to a 2-2 tie following Alona Ostapenko (def. Kenin) and Sevastova's (def. Williams) wins to keep Latvia's hopes alive, the Bannerettes had Mattek-Sands waiting in the wings, and Kenin (her likely Olympic WD partner) there to team up with her. After a close 1st set that had started not long after Sevastova's exhausting win over Williams, the Latvians withered down the stretch and the U.S. team punched a ticket to Budapest.


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[RISER]
Alona Ostapenko, LAT
...in black-and-white numbers, Ostapenko was 1-2 during this tie, but her level of play was so much better than that. After fighting Williams all the way to the end of a 7-6(4)/7-6(3) defeat in Match #2, she ended Kenin's 2020 winning streak with a 6-2/2-6/6-2 victory over the new Australian Open champ to open Day 2. Both she and Sevastova were a physically compromised duo in the deciding doubles, but they made the Bannerettes sweat for an addition set before attrition finally got the best of them.
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[VETERAN]
Anastasija Sevastova, LAT
...after a poor showing in the tie's opening match again Kenin, Sevastova did the seemingly impossible by taking the contest to a fifth match by knocking another chunk out of Serena's statue of inevitability by ending Williams' 14-match career unbeaten streak in Fed cup singles, proving once more that she's more than a little at home on a U.S. hard court. Remember, she's posted two QF and a SF at the U.S. Open over the last four years.


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Match #4 - Anastasija Sevastova/LAT def. Serena Williams/USA
...7-6(5)/3-6/7-6(4). Again, Williams comes up just a bit short in a big match on U.S. soil. Struggling to maintain her consistency, she battled back from 5-2 down in the 1st and had three SP, only to drop the set in a TB, then lose another with the tie on the line two sets later. This was Sevastova's first Top 10 win since 2018.

Match #5 - Sofia Kenin/Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA def. Alona Ostapenko/Anastasija Sevastova, LAT
...6-4/6-0. One wonders what Mary Joe Fernandez's tenure as U.S. captain would have looked like had she thought a bit more about including not only a doubles specialist on a tie roster, but one with a partnership history with another (singles) member of the team. The win improves Rinaldi's mark at the helm to 7-2, with her squads' only losses coming vs. the Czechs in the '18 final and in 1st Round to the eventual '19 finalist Aussies (in a deciding doubles).
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While it wasn't a huge suprise that Alison Riske stayed on the bench in this tie, one has to think that had Kenin clinched the win in Match #3 15-year old Coco Gauff would have made her FC debut in what would have been either a dead rubber singles or doubles match to get her feet wet. With the Budapest FC final competition's early-week round robin format (best-of-3-matches prior to the SF/F), one wonders if Gauff's first FC match now might not come until 2021.


Belarus def. Netherlands 3-2 [dd]
[The Hague, NED / RCI]
...in a tie featuring two top-level tour singles stars in Kiki Bertens and Arya Sabalenka, it was Aliaksandra Sasnovich who came to the rescue for Belarus.

Aliaksandra Sasnovich/BLR
...after nearly taking an opening match 1st set from Kiki Bertens (losing in a 7-5 tie-break), Sasnovich fell by the wayside 2 & 1 to put the Belarusians behind from the jump. But she wasn't finished. After Sabalenka's loss to Bertens on Day 2 pushed the team's back squarely against the wall at 2-1 down, Sasnovich promptly dropped a love 1st set to Arantxa Rus. But after exiting the court between sets with a wrist injury, Sasnovich returned to untie the proverbial binding ropes and release the team's fate from the FC railroad tracks. She defeated Rus in three to keep hopes alive, then teamed with Sabalenka to win a tight three-set deciding doubles contest in a winner-take-all 10-8 tie-break.
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[VETERAN]
Kiki Bertens, NED
...though it was ultimately for naught, Bertens' return to FC play for the first time in three years kept the Dutch afloat for nearly the entire tie. Wins over Sasnovich (three sets) and Sabalenka (straights) improved her career singles martk to 20-2 (two off the team singles victory mark established by Betty Stove with her final win in 1979), and she and Demi Schuurs came within two points of clinching the tie at 6-5 in the 3rd set of the deciding doubles contest.
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[DOUBLES]
Aryna Sabalenka/Aliaksandra Sasnovich, BLR
...in the most dramatic qualifying round match of the week, the Belarusians overcame a set and a break deficit in the deciding doubles, surviving a break-filled 3rd set and winning a 10-8 tie-break to advance to the Fed Cup Finals event this spring.


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Match #4 - Aliaksandra Sasnovich/BLR def. Arantxa Rus/NED
...0-6/7-5/6-2. Belarus' dreams were legitimately darkest before the dawn of Sasnovich. Rallying from a love-set-and-oblivion-within-eyesight hole vs. Rus, Sasnovich pulled herself and the team up by the scruff of the neck and then...

Match #5 - Sabalenka/Sasnovich, BLR def. Bertens/Schuurs, NED
...4-6/6-3/7-6(8). Down a set and a break, then having lost an early break lead in the 3rd in a set with several exchanges of lost serves, the BLR duo stared down defeat (NED got to 30 in game #12, up 6-5) and then pulled ahead late in an 18-point tie-break to give themselves another chance (after RU and SF results over the last three years) to win a maiden Fed Cup crown.
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The result hands the Dutch a fifth consecutive loss, as they've now gone just 1-7 since reaching the semifinals in 2016.


Spain def. Japan 3-1
[Cartagena, ESP / RCO]
...for a Japanese team that had gotten by with a T-E-A-M approach in recent Fed Cup competition, it was thought to be something of a coup to finally get Naomi Osaka back on the squad, even if it was for a road tie on clay vs. the Spanish. It turned out to be a catastrophe, as Osaka was a no-show in her second straight '20 match (after her AO debacle vs. Gauff), putting Japan in a hole too deep to climb out of barring the help of some sort of natural disaster (or a really long ladder), and then benched on Day 2 as the Japanese lost a second straight soul-crushing tie to Spain in the span of a year.


[MVP]
Carla Suarez-Navarro, ESP
...the veteran's final home FC tie turned into a fitting showcase for her steady, undervalued career. After Sara Sorribes-Tormo's tie-opening upset of Osaka, CSN posted back-to-back wins on Friday/Saturday over Misaki Doi and Kurumi Nara to wrap up the win before Japan finally got on the board with a dead rubber doubles victory.
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[SURPRISE]
Sara Sorribes-Tormo, ESP
...tasked in a no-lose situation vs. Osaka in Match #1, SST saw Osaka start off the match in horrid form, then took advantage of her head-down start by playing the sort of clay court tennis that the two-time slam champion is uncomfortable with, and was obviously not properly prepared to encounter at this stage of the season. For Sorribes-Tormo, this was just her second career FC win, and her first since her debut in 2015 (she went 0-3 from 2016-19).


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[DOWN]
Naomi Osaka, JPN
...with Osaka coming in with a 5-1 career mark in FC play, Captain Toshihasa Tsuchihashi surely thought it'd be both "safe" and "wise" to depend on Japan's #1-ranked player. As it turned out, it was a fatal assumption. Osaka lost her first ten points on serve, and committed an ungodly 50 UE in just fifteen games in a 6-0/6-3 loss. This match comes on the heels of her 6-3/6-4, barely-there defeat at the hands of a much more composed Gauff in the AO 3rd Round. The defeat by the #78-ranked Sorribes-Tormo is Osaka's worst since a loss to Dalila Jakupovic (on grass) in June 2018, two months before her U.S. Open title run. She was held out of her Day 2 singles match by the Japanese captain.
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Match #1 - Sara Sorribes-Tormo/ESP def. Naomi Osaka/JPN
...6-0/6-3. Hmmm, after she parted ways with Sascha Bajin last February after *winning* her second straight slam title and rising to #1, though he *technically* had nothing to do with *this* loss, might Wim Fissette's tenor as Osaka's coach be officially "on the clock" after two straight dispiriting defeats and fall to #10 in the rankings? Just wondering.


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This makes back-to-back head shaking experiences for Japan vs. Spain. Last February, Japan saw Georgina Garcia-Perez (on the roster, but never off the bench this week) save MP in Match #2 vs. Misaki Doi (w/ JPN up 1-0) and go on to have a hand in all three points in a 3-2 win in a World Group II match-up in Japan.


Switzerland def. Canada 3-1
[Biel, SUI / HCI]
...what seemed like an interesting, potentially-tight tie turned into a fait accompli when -- yet again -- Canada's Fed Cup fate was sealed by a series of injuries that left the team's captain scrambling to find *anyone* to play a singles match ("Gaby! You're up...again."). For all the depth that Canada has built up over the last few years, FC success has been a hit-and-mostly-miss proposition with Bianca Andreescu and Genie Bouchard (or Francoise Abanda, for that matter) never having their health and participation line up on the same weekend. This time around, teenager Leylah Annie Fernandez, with her upset of Belinda Bencic, threw her name into the ring as another potential card to play down the line. Well, unless something *else* goes wrong prior to or during another unnamed future Fed Cup tie... and with this group, it *always* does.

[MVP]
Jil Teichmann, SUI
...Teichmann has made her early career name on clay courts, but she proved to be the most reliable player in a *hard* court tie for a Swiss team supposedly headed up world #5 Belinda Bencic (a U.S. Open semifinalist last summer, while Teichmann is just 1-4 in her major career). In her singles debut for the Swiss team, the 22-year old won straight sets matches over Fernandez and Gabriela Dabrowski (the doubles star was forced into action on the weekend due to Bouchard's wrist injury, after Andreescu's continued recovery from her WTAF knee injury already had *her* on the bench) to clinch the tie after Bencic's upset by LAF in Match #3.


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[FRESH FACE]
Leylah Annie Fernandez, CAN
...the '19 Roland Garros girl champ made her FC debut last year (a loss to Marketa Vondrousova in a tie vs. CZE that was also missing Andreescu and Bouchard), but the 17-year old was called into duty in Biel due to the depleted Canadian roster. She played Teichmann close in a 7-6(4)/6-4 tie-opening match-up, then stunned Bencic 6-2/7-6(3) in Match #3 to record her maiden Fed Cup match win and (briefly) keep alive the hopes for a miracle comeback.


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Match #3 - Leylah Annie Fernandez/CAN def. Belinda Bencic/SUI
...6-2/7-6(3). LAF hadn't yet beaten a Top 100 player before knocking off #5 Bencic, while the Swiss hadn't lost to a player ranked lower than #185 Fernandez since #296 Peng Shuai in late '18 (yes, the former slam semifinalist, who was coming back from her suspension, so...) in a WTA 125 Challenger while Bencic was building back her ranking after returning from injury.


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Dabrowski is 0-5 in FC singles, but has been called into action in *three* live matches over the last three years. Meanwhile, Andreescu and Bouchard are a combined 19-7 in Fed Cup singles play, for what it's worth. And it may never be worth anything, if history continues to hold for Canada.


Russia def. Romania 3-2 [dd]
[Cluj-Napoca, ROU / HCI]
...for the Swarmettes, one wonders what might have been. A year ago, Romania toppled the overwhelming Czech threat in the 1st Round, only to fall to eventual champion France in the deciding doubles in the semis, coming up just short of the nation's first trip to the Fed Cup final. The new FC format seemed to rankle the Romanians, so fueled by the fan support of a pro-Swarmette crowd (at home or on the road), more than any other nation, as it makes it impossible to *win* the title at home. It's likely why six of the top seven ranked Romanians (led by team leader Simona Halep) bowed out of this qualifying tie, though it *was* held at home and, in truth, was at the beginning of a road that may prove to provide an *easier* path to a FC title (depending on how the round robin groupings go) than the traditional competition did. As it turned out, the Romanians (with either a "B" or "C" team, depending on how much weight one gives to the only Top 100-ranked ROU on the roster, #90 Ana Bogdan) used the energy of the fans to push the Russians to the brink, with two players posting their maiden FC victories before the dream ended in the deciding doubles. What would have happened had some combination of Halep, Cirstea, Tig, Buzarnescu or Niculescu been involved in the scrum? Probably the opposite of what ultimately did.

[MVP]
Ekaterina Alexandrova, RUS
...already a maiden tour title winnerin Shenzhen this season, Alexandrova assumed the role of Russian singles #1 in her Fed Cup debut. After posting her first career win in Match #1 over Gabriela Ruse, she provided the team its only singles point (between two losses by Veronika Kudermetova) with a 7-5/3-6/7-5 win over Ana Bogdan to assure at least the tie would head to the doubles.


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[RISER]
Ana Bogdan, ROU
...often with more potential than results on tour (zero finals and with a career high of #59), the 27-year old held her own as the singles #1. Taken to three by Kudermetova, she notched her first FC win in three sets to knot the tie to close Day 1. She nearly put Romania in a commanding position in Match #3, but fell in a 7-5 3rd set to Alexandrova.


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[SURPRISE]
Jaqueline Cristian, ROU
...in her FC debut, with the team's hopes entirely on her shoulders, the 21-year old posted her maiden win over Kudermetova in straights. She returned for the deciding doubles with Ruse (they reached the Bucharest final together last July, and won a $60K last month), only to fall to Blinkova/Kalinskaya in straight sets.


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[DOUBLES]
Anna Blinkova/Anna Kalinskaya, RUS
...alternates who joined the roster when Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Svetlana Kuznetsova were pulled, "The Annas" came to the rescue for a Russian team now (and once again) deeper than most, even without the presence of some of the nation's biggest WTA names in the mix. A straight sets win over Cristian and Ruse (and the Romanian crowd, which is no small feat for a pair with so little FC experience) gave the Russians their biggest FC win in ages. What comes next might depend on who Captain Igor Andreev can convince to head to Budapest. With the right combination of talent and momentum, might the former FC behemoth be a dark horse "underdog?"
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Match #5 - Anna Blinkova/Anna Kalinskaya, RUS def. Jaqueline Cristian/Gabriela Ruse, ROU
...6-3/6-2. With back-to-back ties lost in the deciding doubles, the Romanians now enter a spring playoff tie which will determine whether or not they'll even *have* a shot to contend for the FC title in 2021. Depending on the match-up, and who decides to play, a loss would set the nation's FC efforts back an additional year, less than a year after Romania was a set away from playing for the 2019 title.

So, if this roster was the result of a "protest on priciple," was it worth it?
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In the words of Alexander Ovechkin, "The Russian machine never breaks." But the Russian *Fed Cup* machine did. But it's in the process of being "repaired" with a new Hordette Whispering captain (Igor Andreev) and some fresh blood. Last February, the Hordettes were participating in zone play for the first time since 1997. In May, just fifteen months and five victorious ties later (3 in Zones, a WG II Playoff and this Qualifier), they'll arrive in Budapest with at least an *opportunity* to win the title, a path that would have taken (at least) until 2021 to even possibly become a reality, and likely longer (what with depending on so many top players to show up over such a long stretch). For all the issues with the new format, it *does* allow for the rapid rise of a nation from also-ran to title contender if the right players "buy in" to the concept for about a year. Enough Russians did to give that nation a chance this spring. The same can't be said for Romania, now one tie away from being an "also-ran" itself.


Germany def. Brazil 4-0
[Florianopolis, BRA / RCO]
...this tie began as the least star-stubbed of the week, and ended as the least competitive. In Rainer Schuettler's debut as the new German captain, the German "B"-team swept all eight sets vs. Brazil in the week's only full-on blowout in the new format's first eight 1st Round qualifying match-ups, as even Anna-Lena Friedsam & Antonia Lottner got in on the action to preserve the shutout with a dead rubber doubles victory.


[MVP]
Laura Siegemund, GER
...Siegemund had played just three FC matches in her career heading into this tie, and just one in singles (a 2019 loss to Sabalenka), but she was 2-0 in the lead-off spot on both Friday and Saturday, allowing just nine total games to Teliana Pereira and Gabriela Ce.
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Match #2 - Tatjana Maria/GER def. Gabriela Ce/BRA
...6-3/7-6(5). This was as close as Brazil got to the Germans in any of the five matches played in Florianopolis. (Hmmm, would it be in good taste to bring up the link between Brazil and certain "much-wanted" Germans in the 1940's? Yeah, I guess I'll skip that then.)
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So, twenty-three games won by Brazil in four matches. That's an average of 6.0 per match. Meanwhile, after escaping zone play this weekend and hoping to fill the "South American slot" in next year's qualifying round, Argentina dreams of (at least) doing a little better.


Belgium def. Kazakhstan 3-1
[Kortrijk, BEL / HCI]
...the Kazakh Fed Cup team is rarely ever anything short of "disappointing" when it comes to actual results, so why would the opportunity to right years of wrong with a win in *this* tie be any different? While KAZ was an Elena Rybakina short of a true "dream team" roster, both Yulia Putintseva and Zarina Diyas joined Kazakhstan's *top*-ranked player in the Australian Open 3rd Round a short while ago, so this might have been the perfect chance to reverse the nation's FC history. Ummm... yeah, no.

[MVP]
Elise Mertens, BEL
...after dropping the 1st set of Match #1 to Diyas by a score of 6-1, Mertens won four straight sets to put Belgium up 2-1 by allowing just 2, 1 (vs. Diyas) and 1, 6 (vs. Putintseva) games the rest of the way in Kortrijk. The results improve her FC mark to 8-3 and end the two-match losing streak she'd incurred (after her 6-1 career start for BEL) by being swept by Alize Cornet and Carolina Garcia in straight sets in last year's 1st Round tie against France.

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[VETERAN]
Kirsten Flipkens, BEL
...with Belgium up 2-1 and looking to avoid a deciding doubles match, after Belgian captain Johan Van Herck had seen somewhat unconventional Match #2 choice Ysaline Bonaventure lose a lead and a long match to Putintseva a day earlier, Flipkens was called upon to record the clinching win seventeen years after she made her Fed Cup debut in 2003. Though just 13-20 in her FC singles career, the 34-year old team "grandmother" (her words) defeated Diyas 6-3/6-4 to complete the Waffles' mission. She's actually now won *two* straight FC singles matches, having upset Garbine Muguruza in last year's WG Playoff vs. ESP.
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Match #2 - Yulia Putintseva/KAZ def. Ysaline Bonaventure/BEL
...3-6/7-6(2)/6-2. In retrospect, Van Herck's decision to play Bonaventure here rather than, say, the higher ranked Flipkens or Greet Minnen, is now seen as having "tired out" Putintseva and allowed Mertens to have an easier time of things against her on Day 2. Of course, considering we're talking about the rechargeable Putintseva, are we *really* to believe she was anything but *more* inspired on Saturday after having come from 6-3/5-3 down, with the Belgian twice serving for the match, to win in 2:35 a day earlier? The winners write the history, though, I guess.
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Hmmm, if Flipkens is the "grandmother," then what is Kim Clijsters, who practiced with the team during the week and -- who knows? -- *could* still end up adding to her own career Fed Cup resume at some point down the line? If she does, is a Belgian sing-along version of "Baby Shark" -- only "Baby Waffle" -- in order at some point?


Slovakia def. Great Britain 3-1
[Bratislava, SVK / RCI]
...after toiling for nearly thirty years to reach the World Group (including three straight WG II Playoff losses), naturally, once the nation finally found itself with a chance to contend *in-season* for a Fed Cup title the *top*-ranked Brit didn't show up in Bratislava. So, after an expected loss (albeit mostly at the hands of the Slovak maybe *least* likely to have been on the business end of a beatdown)... well, rinse, and repeat for (fill in the appropriate number of years the wait might end up being *this* time).

[MVP]
Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, SVK
...Schmiedlova, riding a career rollercoaster for years now, reached another high point in Bratislava. Having not won a FC singles match since 2016 (going 0-3 since), a steady version of AKS (apparently, she *does* exist) hammered Heather Watson 2 & 3 in Match #1, then provided the clinching point in another straight sets win over Harriet Dart in Match #4 after Victoria Kuzmova and Rebecca Sramkova had provided a lot of needless drama in the two matches in between.


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[SURPRISE]
Harriet Dart, GBR
...the #141-ranked Brit has been an under-the-radar surprise since mid-2018. In her Fed Cup singles debut, she further solidified her "brand." Dart pushed Kuzmova to three sets in Match #2, threatening to take out the SVK #1 not only for the match, but the entire tie. Dart took the 1st set, then rallied from 5-2 down in the 3rd, knotting the score at 5-5 and forcing Kuzmova to take six MP to secure the win. It was so exhausting an effort, it forced Kuzmova off the schedule on Day 2. Dart *had* to play, though, and fell 7-5/6-3 to AKS as Slovakia wrapped up the win.
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Match #2 - Viktoria Kuzmova/SVK def. Harriet Dart/GBR
...6-7(3)/6-3/7-5. While AKS provided the bulk of the points in this tie, designated leader Kuzmova won the most epic match. Coming back from a set down vs. Dart, Kuzmova nearly blew a 5-2 3rd set advantage but finally won on her sixth MP. If not for Schmiedlova, Kuzmova's pulling from Day 2 singles as a result of her overload of work here *might* have been the moment that could have given the Brits a chance to turn the tide. Well, you know, if they'd had the players who *got* the team here, maybe. But Johanna Konta was absent, and Katie Boulter is still not yet fully back to form after injury. As things went, *Dart* was the compromised player forced to play again on Day 2 after this contest, losing Match #4 in straights to end the British effort.

Match #3 - Heather Watson/GBR def. Rebecca Sramkova/SVK
...6-0/7-5. Britain's lone victory came when Watson faced off with Sramkova, taking an exhausted Kuzmova's place after her dramatic win over Dart. Career FC win #21 moved Watson into a tie with current captain Anne Keothavong for the second most in team history, two ahead of the late Elena Baltacha and well behind all-time leader Virginia Wade's 36.
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And finally... oh, Schmiedy!




[EUROPE/AFRICA I ZONE - Tallinn, EST / HCI]
...having lost a face-off with Russia last April in the WG II Playoffs, Italy opened 2020 in zone play for the first time since 1997. The four-time FC champions rebounded with style, winning 10 of 11 matches on the week and sweeping through the competition in Tallinn. Meanwhile, the fully-loaded Ukraine squad nearly had as easy a time. Until the final stretch, that is. With the clinching PP win on her racket, Elina Svitolina came up short vs. host nation Estonia's Anett Kontaveit, throwing it all into question and forcing things into a deciding doubles match. Oh, did I mention that Ukraine was fully-loaded? So, you can probably figure out how that one went.

=Promotional Playoffs=
Ukraine def. Estonia 2-1 [dd]
Italy def. Croatia 2-0
[MVPs]
Dayana Yastremska, UKR and Elisabetta Cocciaretto, ITA
...looking for a through-the-roof season in '20, Yastremska's January results were mixed. She reached a final in Adelaide, but fell to Caroline Wozniacki (blowing double-break leads in two sets) in the 2nd Round in Melbourne. So far, she's perfect in February. 2-0 in round robin play in Tallinn, the 19-year old opened the PP with a win over Estonia's Elena Malygina that improved her career FC singles record to 5-0, only to soon after be unexpectedly called upon to play in her first ever doubles match for Ukraine when Svitolina fell to Kontaveit. She and Marta Kostyk allowed just two games in winning the deciding doubles, pushing Ukraine forward toward what could be a *very interesting* 2021 Fed Cup season should (at least most of) this gang (which also included Lesia Tsurenko and Katarina Zavatska) desire to become a cohesive unit over the next fifteen months.



While most of the fabled Italian Fed Cup Quartet are now gone, there's still life and will in the Italian FC effort. This week's action proved it, as the likes of 19-year old Cocciaretto (3-0 in her FC singles debut, + 1-0 in doubles), Jasmine Paolini (2-0), Martina Trevisan (2-0 in WD), Camila Giorgi (2-1, her first FC wins since '16) and Giulia Gatto-Monticone (making her FC debut at age 32) joined forces in an attempt to pull Team Italia out of the depths it hasn't seen in this competition in twenty-three years.


===============================================
[RISER]
Anett Kontaveit, EST
...ultimately, Estonia failed to earn promotion in front of a home crowd in Tallinn, but Kontaveit once again showed that maybe 2020 will *finally* be her true breakout season. Fresh off her first career slam QF in Melbourne, she went 4-0 in singles on the week (upping her career FC mark to 22-7) and, with the team's fate entirely in her hands, stopped Elina Svitolina cold in the PP, recording her second Top 10 win of the season (AO/Bencic). Of course, it'd helped if she'd had a little help, as she couldn't lift up the *entire* team, falling 6-2/6-0 alongside Malygina in the deciding doubles vs. Ukraine's Kostyuk/Yastremska.
===============================================
[SURPRISE]
Camila Giorgi, ITA
...Italy's only loss all week came from Giorgi, in a 3rd set TB in round robin play vs. Kontaveit. But that's not why she's here, nor is her overall 2-1 record, which included the clinching win in the PP vs. Croatia over Jana Fett to record her first FC victory in four years. No, it's because after it was all over Giorgi, after years to seemingly having to be threatened to show interest in Fed Cup, actually said, "It's been a great week and great fun, I will be available to play for the team, always."

And, one might suspect, Captain Tathiana Garbin surely wanted to blurt out, "Can I hold you to that?" (Only she thought it in Italian, of course.)
===============================================
[DOUBLES]
Marta Kostyuk, UKR
...the 17-year appeared in just one match during the week's round robin competition, a dead rubber WD match vs. Croatia. Then, with promotion on the line, she came off the bench and joined Yastremska to dominate Kontaveit/Malygina 2 & love in the *most* important match of the week, winning the deciding doubles and preventing Svitolina's slip from ruining an entire week of sterling effort from the entire team.
===============================================
Europe/Africa I PP Match #2 - Anett Kontaveit/EST def. Elina Svitolina/UKR
...6-3/6-7(5)/6-2. Svitolina came into the week just 2-2 on the season, having lost matches by 1/1 and 1/2 scores in Australia. She went 2-1 in Tallin, losing with the entire week on the line in the PP to Kontaveit, but also forced to three sets by Jana Fett, who went 0-3 on the week and *only* took Svitolina to three, and even had to play a 1st set TB vs. Viktoriya Tomova. Though the highest ranked on the team, she was the least consistent and reliable roster member. Does it mean anything for her season? Who knows... I guess we'll soon find out.
===============================================



[EUROPE/AFRICA I ZONE - Esch-sur-Alzette, LUX / HCI]
...in Luxembourg, the Serbian Bracelettes advanced on a run that can only be explained in these parts as a "Super Duper Krunic Special," while the new era of Polish tennis was further Iga-fied as the Poles swept through all seven "live" matches played during the week.

=Promotional Playoffs=
Serbia def. Slovenia 2-1 [dd]
Poland def. Sweden 2-0
[MVPs]
Aleksandra Krunic/Nina Stojanovic, SRB and Iga Swiatek, POL
...for years, Krunic's has been the presence that has lifted all Serbian Fed Cup boats. From her years of learning at the doubles hips of Jankovic and Ivanovic to her fiery-leadership-in-a-small-package outings since their tour exits, her unique brand of good luck and spirit have cut a winning swath for her nation throughout her Fed Cup career. This week, though, the charm of The Bracelet's mystique was almost ridiculous. Serbia played three ties during the week. All three went to the deciding doubles. All three times Krunic teamed with Stojanovic (who went 1-2 in singles, while The Bracelet won her lone singles outing in RR play) to win in straight sets over host LUX, SWE and then SLO in the promotional playoff.

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Just 18, Swiatek is already getting in her reps as Poland's number one #1, going 3-0 in singles in Esch-sur-Alzette and leading off the PP with a three-set victory over Mirjam Bjorklund. In truth, her fellow roster mate Linette might have an even *better* case for "MVP" this week, as Swiatek lost the only singles set dropped by Poland in LUX (vs. Bjorklund) but, hey, I figure this is likely going to be the norm for the foreseeable POL FC future, so we might as well start to get into a well-worn groove right now, right?


===============================================
[VETERAN]
Magda Linette, POL
...Linette matched Swiatek's spotless 3-0 singles mark, clinching the PP victory over Sweden with a straight sets win over Johanna Larsson.
===============================================
[FRESH FACE]
Kaja Juvan, SLO
...though the 19-year old was part of Slovenia's losing deciding doubles duo in the promotional playoff, Juvan was 2-0 in singles (w/ a big win in the PP over Olga Danilovic).
===============================================
Europe/Africa I PP Match #3 - Aleksandra Krunic/Nina Stojanovic, SRB def. Kaja Juvan/Tamara Zidansek, SLO
...6-4/6-4. Needless to say, Zidansek had a tough week. The Slovenian was 0-3 in singles, including a Match #2 loss to Stojanovic in the PP, and 1-1 in doubles, winning a deciding match (w/ Jakupovic) in zone play vs. Turkey but falling here in the match that decided which nation would earn promotion.
===============================================




[AMERICAS I - Santiago, CHI / RCO]
...in Chile, Mexico won a series of crucial matches to earn promotion, joined by South America's mercurial sleeping should-be giant Argentina, which may have *finally* found a new leader.


=Promotional Playoffs=
Mexico def. Paraguay 2-1 [dd]
Argentina def. Colombia 2-0
[MVPs]
Fernanda Contreras Gomez/Giuliana Olmos, MEX and Nadia Podoroska/ARG
...Contreras Gomez/Olmos won a deciding doubles match in round robin play over host nation Chile that paved the way to the promotional playoff, where the duo did the same vs. Paraguay, winning a 3rd set TB to put the nation in a rare big-time Playoff match-up come spring.



For Podoroska, the timing of this Fed Cup week couldn't have been better. Still gaining momentum off her Pan American Games Gold medal run from last summer, the two-time 2020 ITF challenger champion and WTA 125 semifinalist went 3-0 in singles for Argentina (which won all four ties it contested), sweeping through six sets of play and opening the nation's 2-0 PP win over Colombia with a victory over Emiliana Arango. She's now 17-1 on the season, and 11-1 in her FC singles career.


===============================================
Americas I PP Match #3 - Fernanda Contreras Gomez/Giuliana Olmos, MEX def. Veronica Cepede Royg/Lara Escauriza, PAR
...2-6/6-3/7-6(4). I said a while back that Olmos might be the guiding light that Mexico has been seeking. While she was just 2-2 in singles play on the week, she and FCG went 3-1 in doubles, winning two key deciding doubles matches. Hey, maybe she'll be the Mexican version of Aleks Krunic?
===============================================




[ASIA/OCEANIA II ZONE - Wellington, NZL / HCO]
...led by a phalanx of former and current NCAA players, New Zealand tennis is suddenly a (moderate) thing. The host Kiwis won out Asia/Oceania II without losing a "live" rubber match all week long.



=Promotional Playoff=
New Zealand def. Philippines 2-1
[MVP]
Valentina Ivanov/NZL
...the 18-year old went 3-0 in singles, surrendering just eight games in all (and just one in an additional doubles match).
===============================================
[PLEASANTLY SURPRISING FACT]
The NCAA Kiwis
...every member of the NZL team of Ivanov (California), Erin Routliffe (Alabama), Paige Hourgian (Georgia Tech), Emily Fanning (Kentucky) and Kelly Southwood (Auburn) has NCAA college tennis ties, which likely comes in handy when it comes to a team event such as Fed Cup (no matter the level of competition).
===============================================


Asia/Oceania II RR Match #3 - Marian Jade Capadocia/Shaira Hope Rivera, PHI def. Watsachol Sawatdee/Tamarine Tanasugarn, THA
...6-2/4-6/7-6(3). Perhaps the biggest surprise of the entire week in Wellington may have been the Philippines 2-1 win over Thailand, which featured 42-year old Tanasugarn in her 60th career tie, her first since 2015 (she retired in '16, then began a comeback in December '18). She's now 52-27 (38-16 s, 14-11 d) in her FC career.

And, remember, this is coming after 14-year old Filipino Alexandra Eala reached the AO girls singles 3rd Round (as the #4 seed) and won the doubles. The ever-expanding net of international tennis continues to spread, and reach new areas of interest.
===============================================




[EUROPE/AFRICA II ZONE - Helinski, FIN / HCI]
...Denmark showed that there is indeed life after Caroline Wozniacki, as the Danes put on a surprising run to earn promotion; while host Finland lost out in a Promotional Playoff vs. Georgia as the nation's longtime key player in just such a situation was watching it all play out from the sidelines rather than between the lines (for, essentially, the first time since 2000).

=Promotional Playoffs=
Georgia def. Finland 2-1 [dd]
Denmark def. Tunisia 2-1 [dd]
[MVPs]
Ekaterine Gorgodze/Oksana Kalashniskova, GEO and Emilie Francati/Maria Jesperson, DEN
...both the promotional playoffs in Helsinki went the distance, with Georgia and Denmark advancing via a win in a deciding doubles match, as the clinching points came from three players who didn't play a singles match all week long. The Georgians were 2-0 as partners for the week, as Kalashnikova maintained her career doubles prowess by improving to 16-6 in her FC career. Gorgodze, the only of the four winners not confined to WD action throughout, had gone 3-0 in RR singles, but dropped Match #1 in the PP to Finland's Anastasia Kulikova. The Danes were 3-1 on the week.


===============================================
[RISER]
Ons Jabeur, TUN
...though she was on the wrong side of the deciding doubles match in the PP vs. Denmark along with Chiraz Bechri (who went 1-3 in singles, including a Match #1 loss to Karen Barritza in the PP, but had teamed with Jabeur in RR play to defeat Israel to get there), Australian Open quarterfinalist Jabeur was unbeatable in singles, going 4-0 for the week without losing a set to improve her career FC singles record to a Bertens-esque 28-5.
===============================================
[FRESH FACES]
Anastasia Kulikova, FIN and Clara Tauson, DEN
...last year, a teenage Kulikova burst onto the Fed Cup scene with a 4-0 singles week in zone play in her debut. This year, at 19, she did it again. The Finn held up her end while running her career record to 8-0, including opening the PP vs. Georgia with a win over Gorgodze.

Tauson, the AO girls champ a year ago, is just 17 but she's already played in ten Fed Cup ties. She went 3-0 in round robin play this week, with her only loss coming in a fairly tight match-up with Jabeur in the promotional playoff vs. Tunisia.
===============================================
Europe/Africa II PP Match #2 - Ons Jabeur/TUN def. Clara Tauson/DEN
...6-4/6-4. Less than three weeks after she ended Wozniacki's career, Jabeur notched a win over another generation's top Danish star. Ons might not be *totally* welcome in Copenhagen, Odense or elsewhere for a little while.



Europe/Africa II PP Match #3 - Ekaterine Gorgodze/Oksana Kalashnikova, GEO def. Laura Hietaranta/Anastasia Kulikova, FIN
...6-4/6-3. It didn't take long, but Finland already misses it greatest Fed Cup star, Emma Laine. Sure, Laine was present in Helsinki in her role as team captain, but the all-time career FC Finn (56 wins, 55 ties) who concluded her career in last spring's Fed Cup competition was still a force at age 32 in 2019. Her final three Fed Cup seasons included a closing stretch that saw her go 8-1 in doubles, winning four deciding doubles matches.
===============================================


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Captain Tatiana Poutchek (BLR) = "I love these women!"
Captain Anabel Medina-Garrigues (ESP) = "Give me Garbine in Budapest or give me Fed Cup death."
Captain Igor Andreev (RUS) = "Sometimes a steady presence is all that is required, whether it's named Ekaterina or, you know, Igor."
Captain Kathy Rinaldi (USA) = "Whew! For a second there, I thought I was Mary Joe Fernandez... and then I realized, no, Kath, you are most definitely *not* that."
Captain Mikhail Filima (UKR) = "To my team, I have only one thing to say: RSVP, please. (See, even you, Elina.)"
Captain Adrians Zguns (LAT) = "Well, that worked out better than I could have ever dreamed. Almost."
Captain Heinz Gunthardt (SUI) = "Still, I'm hesitant to be optimistic."
Captain Johan Van Herck (BEL) = "When it all works out, it is *by definition" a GOOD job."
Captain Matej Liptak (SVK) = "Domi who?"
Captain Tatjana Jecmenica (SRB) = "Just talk to Aleks. She's all that really matters anyway, right?"
Captain Dawid Celt (POL) = "I'm just here to watch Iga."
Captain Tathiana Garbin (ITA) = "Just when you think we're out, we pull ourselves back in."
Captain Mercedes Paz (ARG) = "Oh, Nadia!"
Captain Rainer Schuettler (GER) = "Quite honestly, I'm not sure *what* to make of such a 'no fuss, no muss' situation. Maybe...I'm just glad no one will wish to fire me now?"
Captain Agustin Moreno (MEX) = "Would it be bragging to note that we won without *any* assistance from our Top 3 ranked singles players?"
Captain Marina Erakovic (NZL) = "I think I've found a 'secret plan' for international team event success... psst, don't tell anyone."
Captain Margalita Chaknashvili-Ranzinger (GEO) - "Thanks for retiring, Captain Laine." (wink)
Captain Jens-Aker Andersen (DEN) - "Caro who? Hahaha... just kidding!"
Captain Florin Segarceanu (ROU) = "There's no crying in baseball, nor pity-partying in Fed Cup."
Captain Dias Doskarayev (KAZ) = "Can't you just use what I said last time, or the time before that, or the time...? Anyway, didn't we pay for Elena to be here?"
Captain Roberto Burzagli (BRA) = "When you have no expectations, you can't *really* be disappointed."
Captain Anne Keothavong (GBR) = "I'd say that when you have no expectations, you can't really be disappointed. But, well, after all that effort we put into this, I somewhat *am* right now."
Captain Paul Haarhuis (NED) = "This isn't as fun as it used to be."
Captain Toshihasa Tsuchihashi (JPN) = "They say one should stick with their gut instinct, or suffer the consequences. Lesson learned (well, until the next time Naomi shows up, probably)."
Captain Heidi El Tabakh (CAN) = (throws up hands and walks away, shaking her head)




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*2020 FED CUP FINAL NATIONS - 12*
Australia (2019 final)
Belarus (qualifier)
Belgium (qualifier)
Czech Republic (wild card)
France (2019 champion)
Germany (qualifier)
Hungary (host nation)
Russia (qualifier)
Slovakia (qualifier)
Spain (qualifier)
Switzerland (qualifier)
United States (qualifier)
[2020 Playoff nations - 16*]
* - Asia/Oceania I nation TBD in March
* - Asia/Oceania I nation TBD in March
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
Great Britain
Italy
Japan
Kazakhstan
Latvia
Mexico
Netherlands
Poland
Serbia
Romania
Ukraine
-
*-8 winners play in 2021 Qualifying Round, 8 losers return to zone play

*FED CUP FINALS*
1963 United States def. Australia 2-1
1964 Australia def. United States 2-1
1965 Australia def. United States 2-1
1966 United States def. West Germany 3-0
1967 United States def. Great Britain 2-0
1968 Australia def. Netherlands 3-0
1969 United States def. Australia 2-1
1970 Australia def. West Germany 3-0
1971 Australia def. Great Britain 3-0
1972 South Africa def. Great Britain 2-1
1973 Australia def. South Africa 3-0
1974 Australia def. United States 2-1
1975 Czechoslovakia def. Australia 3-0
1976 United States def. Australia 2-1
1977 United States def. Australia 2-1
1978 United States def. Australia 2-1
1979 United States def. Australia 3-0
1980 United States def. Australia 3-0
1981 United States def. Great Britain 3-0
1982 United States def. West Germany 3-0
1983 Czechoslovakia def. West Germany 2-1
1984 Czechoslovakia def. Australia 2-1
1985 Czechoslovakia def. United States 2-1
1986 United States def. Czechoslovakia 3-0
1987 West Germany def. United States 2-1
1988 Czechoslovakia def. USSR 2-1
1989 United States def. Spain 3-0
1990 United States def. USSR 2-1
1991 Spain def. United States 2-1
1992 Germany def. Spain 2-1
1993 Spain def. Australia 3-0
1994 Spain def. United States 3-0
1995 Spain def. United States 3-2
1996 United States def. Spain 5-0
1997 France def. Netherlands 4-1
1998 Spain def. Switzerland 3-2
1999 United States def. Russia 4-1
2000 United States def. Spain 5-0
2001 Belgium def. Russia 2-1
2002 Slovak Republic def. Spain 3-1
2003 France def. United States 4-1
2004 Russia def. France 3-2
2005 Russia def. France 3-2
2006 Italy def. Belgium 3-2
2007 Russia def. Italy 4-0
2008 Russia def. Spain 4-0
2009 Italy def. United States 4-0
2010 Italy def. United States 3-1
2011 Czech Republic def. Russia 3-2
2012 Czech Republic def. Serbia 3-1
2013 Italy def. Russia 4-0
2014 Czech Republic def. Germany 3-1
2015 Czech Republic def. Russia 3-2
2016 Czech Republic def. France 3-2
2017 United States def. Belarus 3-2
2018 Czech Republic def. United States 3-0
2019 France def. Australia 3-2
[MOST TITLES]
18 - United States
11 - Czech Republic/Czechoslovakia
7 - Australia
5 - Spain
4 - Italy
4 - Russia
3 - France
2 - West Germany/Germany
2 - Slovakia
1 - Belgium
1 - South Africa

*BACKSPIN FED CUP AWARDS*
*-non-title winning nation
[FED CUP PLAYER OF YEAR]
2005 Elena Dementieva, RUS
2006 Francesca Schiavone, RUS
2007 Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
2008 Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
2009 Flavia Pennetta, ITA
2010 Flavia Pennetta, ITA
2011 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2012 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2013 Roberta Vinci, ITA
2014 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2015 Karolina Pliskova, CZE
2016 Caroline Garcia, FRA*
2017 CoCo Vandeweghe, USA
2018 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2019 Ash Barty, AUS*
[FED CUP CAPTAIN OF YEAR]
2015 Amelie Mauresmo, FRA*
2016 Paul Haarhuis, NED*
2017 Kathy Rinaldi, USA
2018 Kathy Rinaldi, USA*
2019 Julien Benneteau, FRA
[FED CUP FINALS MVP]
2002 Daniela Hantuchova, SVK
2003 Amelie Mauresmo, FRA
2004 Anastasia Myskina, RUS
2005 Elena Dementieva, RUS
2006 Francesa Schiavone, ITA
2007 Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
2008 Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
2009 Flavia Pennetta, ITA
2010 Flavia Pennetta, ITA
2011 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2012 Lucie Safarova, CZE
2013 Roberta Vinci, ITA
2014 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2015 Karolina Pliskova, CZE
2016 Barbora Strycova, CZE
2017 CoCo Vandeweghe, USA
2018 Katerina Siniakova, CZE
2019 Kristina Mladenovic, FRA

*WORLD GROUP COMEBACKS FROM 0-2 DEFICIT*
[WG I]
2004 WG 2nd Rd. - Spain(H) def. Belgium
2011 WG 1st Rd. - Russia(H) def. France
2013 WG Semifinal - Russia(H) def. Slovak Republic
2015 WG 1st Rd. - France def. Italy(H) = only time WG I home team lost
[WG II]
1996 WG II 1st Rd. - Australia def. Canada(H)
1999 WG II 1st Rd. - Austria(H) def. Australia
2013 WG II 1st Rd. - Sweden def. Argentina(H)

*FC TITLE AS PLAYER and CAPTAIN*
Margaret Court/AUS
Chris Evert/USA
Billie Jean King/USA
-
RECENT NOTE: Raymond/USA (as player and coach)

*MOST TITLES AS PLAYER*
8 - Chris Evert, USA
7 - Billie Jean King, USA
6 - Rosie Casals, USA
6 - Petra Kvitova, CZE*
[captain]
6 - Petr Pala, CZE*


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ITF PLAYER: Shelby Rogers/USA
...Rogers picked up the season's first $100K ITF challenger of the season, taking the Midland, Michigan event via a walkover over vs. Ukraine's Anhelina Kalinina. In winning her biggest career singles titles, Rogers posted earlier wins over Kayla Day (1st Rd.) and Irina Falconi (SF).


===============================================
JUNIOR: Matilde Paoletti/ITA
...in Porto Allegre, 16-year old Paoletti picked up her first career Grade 1 title at the Brasil Juniors Cup, upsetting three seeds (including #2-seeded Argetine Ana Gellar in a 6-2/5-7/7-5 final) en route to the championship.


===============================================


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1. $25K Launceston AUS Final - Asia Muhammad def. Destanee Aiava
...6-4/6-3. Already with a tour-level doubles title in Auckland this season, Muhammad picked up her tenth career ITF singles crown in Launceston.


===============================================


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#abitcold????

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Where's Waldo Vika...?

























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It takes a village. Seriously. #oscars

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All for now.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 3:15 AM 

5 Comments:

Blogger colt13 said...

Lots to get to, as the season is now in full swing!

Is that Snezana pushing Jelena's luggage?

The wait is over! Ulrikke Eikeri is in the singles MD at Hua Hin. Only 230 events into her career.

Wozniacki supposedly took her name of the rankings, yet is still ranked, below players with less points.

Shoutout to Fed Cup's site, as it was easy to follow live scores.

Not for 2020, but for 2024, assume that Andorra will cobble together a Fed Cup team so Jimenez Kasintseva can get Olympic eligibility. They have a model in Estonia, which is mostly Kontaveit and a couple of warm bodies.

Kenin's loss almost felt like one of Halep's. Meaning that it isn't that she played poorly, but the other player stepped up. Ostapenko looks like a title contender again.

Serena still had a better week than Mookie Betts.

Stat of the Week- 3- The number of American slam winners in singles born outside the US.

Pretty easy to figure out- Navratilova, Seles, and now Kenin. Kenin is the only one not to have for another country-so far.

Quiz Time!

Japan's weekend did not go as well as expected, but they do have some Fed Cup history. Who has the most combined wins in their history?

A.Kazuko Sawamatsu
B.Rika Fujiwara
C.Ai Sugiyama
D.Kimiko Date-Krumm


St. Petersburg is a Premier, so Up/Down Side below.








Answer!

This one may surprise you. (D)Date-Krumm isn't even close with only 21 wins total.

(C)Sugiyama had 25 wins, which makes her second overall, but had a losing record in singles.

(B)Fujiwara gets notice for going 18-2 in doubles, giving her the second highest doubles total.

That leaves (A)Sawamatsu who had 53 wins. Ok, I lied, the Sawamatsu family had 53 wins. Her sister Junko had 1. Junko's daughter Naoko, the former world #14 had 8 in a career highlighted by an AO QF in 1995, as well as reaching IW SF the same year. Along with Date-Krumm in 1996, that was the best result until Osaka won.

That leaves Kazuko, who won 44. 1973 AO SF, and doubles winner at Wimbledon in 1975, she excelled in a time when Japan did not have many stars. Leaving her to play so much that her final Fed Cup record was 44-10.

Mon Feb 10, 05:05:00 AM EST  
Blogger colt13 said...

5 On the Up Side- Travel Edition.

1.Rybakina- Russian born Rybakina isn't even eligible for Fed Cup yet, so the rested star is the St. Petersburg pick in a week marked by late arrivals. Can she reach her 3rd final of the year?
2.Wang Q.- Hua Hin pick in a draw with an Asian flavor. In the same part of the draw as Svitolina, but not picking any Fed Cup participant this week.
3.Teichmann- Looked like a Top 30 player this week. Still better on clay, but improving on herd to the point that she isn't an easy out anymore.
4.Fernandez- Dabrowski only has 2 WTA MD wins in singles, yet keeps getting thrown out there in Fed Cup. She was overmatched but played hard. But Fernandez is the future. Like Gauff, another former junior champ jumping up the next year. Future Top 10?
5.Kvitova- Projects to have a good week. Real curious to see how the Czech players do, as they are used to playing after a Fed Cup match this time of year.

Mon Feb 10, 05:14:00 AM EST  
Blogger colt13 said...

5 On the Down Side.

1.Osaka- Girl imploded like the former Kingdome. Why not make another reference to Washington, since Fed Cup was there. 36-15 since her 2019 AO title, she has taken a step back.
2.Kuzmova- 51 winners. 76 unforced errors. 2 hr 55 min match. She won, but it is a recurring theme. Kvitova, nicknamed P3tra because of her long drawn out matches, has had 12 matches over 2 hours in the last year. Kuzmova has had 11. No wonder she can't follow up her wins.
3.V.Kudermetova- Shockingly, she has had 18 2 hr matches in the same time frame, including one this weekend. A disappointing 0-2 this weekend, she lost to players ranked 90 and 197. Now on a 4 match losing streak, it is just a minor blip, but one she need to fix, lest it reach Mladenovic like lengths. Speaking of her...
4.Mladenovic- Because of the draw, since there is a probable match against Kvitova, who has beaten her 9 out of 10 times.
5.Clijsters- Not for her, as she is entered in Dubai, but for tour optics. Because people like me will compare how much she plays compared to Serena, Maria, Vika, and Bibi. The other, is that if she comes back with the right attitude and competes, it shines the spotlight on those with questionable effort like Osaka.

Yes, i'm picking on Osaka, but that was terrible. A 2 time slam winner and former #1 is held to a higher standard. Watching Dabrowski for one, and Romania as a team(among others) give it their all, then watch Osaka come up small is jarring.

Mon Feb 10, 05:33:00 AM EST  
Blogger Diane said...

I just wrote to Fed Cup TV AGAIN, to find out if I should renew my subscription (well, it was automatically renewed this morning, but I can cancel it). You used to be able to buy passes, but now you're forced to pay twice as much because it's Fed Cup/Davis Cup combined (whether you want it or not). And with the new format, you're watching only twice a year. And this weekend, everything was blocked! Trying to find out whether April ties will be blocked, too.

Of course, dealing with the ITF is--well, you know what it's like.

I don't watch the Academy Awards, so thanks for posting the Janelle Monet clip. She has saved music for me!

Mon Feb 10, 10:12:00 AM EST  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

C-

Yes, it *does* appear to be JJ's mom. Needless to say, it's a interesting look, isn't it? ;)

I still wish they hadn't gotten rid of the updated blog posts section last year on the FC site. There was a fun immediacy to the updates. I don't particularly like the post-match articles.

Kenin: now just 2-4 in Fed Cup, but you still don't think of her *that way*. So, yeah, very similar to Halep, who's lost a lot of big matches but isn't seen as a something of a stumbler in big moments (unlike a certain Ukrainian, who did it again this weekend).

Yes, Ostapenko's performances might end up being the most intriguing aspect of the entire week. If we can inject her back into the mix things will become even more headspinning come big event time.

Quiz: immediately thought Sugiyama before I even saw the choices, because of her doubles work. Would never have guessed Sawamatsu. So, good one!

KAZ Fed Cup future (w/ Rybakina): So you're tellin' me there's a chance? :)

Hmmm, so after maybe being the "revelation of the year" on clay in '19, might Teichmann contend for the honor on hard court in '20?

I know, Dabrowski should get a "gold star" sticker next to her name for being such a good sport.

I'm starting to get a little of a Pavlyuchenkova vibe from Kuzmova, as in it's obvious how good she *can* be (and sometimes is), but wonder if her fitness is where it should be to allow her results to top out.


D-

They always want to combine the tours (or in this case, FC/DC) for purposes like that, when you'd think an "a la carte" model might draw more unique subscribers. One thing about ESPN+ that's good is that you can just sign up for a month (covering a two-week slam quite nicely) at a time and pick and choose a bit better. None of this year-long subscription stuff.

Do they show (or have available to some) the zone play, or it just the WG ties?

Another thing I realized about the new FC format, what with Russia going from zone play last February to the Finals competition in April. It's possible (though hardly probable) for Russia to go from zone play to champion in 15 months. That wouldn't have been possible in the old format until November '21, a full year and a half (plus) later. If nothing else, though I don't like the whole "team event" final at a neutral site aspect, that *should* act as an incentive for players who'd like to win a title. This could be important information for, say, a nation like Ukraine. If everyone of note (Svitolina-Yastremska-Tsurenko) plays throughout, it's a *legit* threat to be the champion in April '21 despite starting '20 in Europe/Africa I.

Yeah, that was a great start to the show. Actually, there were quite a few good musical performances this year (Eminem, Elton John, Billie Eilish, etc.). The show works better w/o a host, and goes much quicker, too (even if some context might be lost without any sort of running commentary... not that the hosts ever really provided any).

Mon Feb 10, 02:17:00 PM EST  

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