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Russia moves to Fed Cup final vs. France
Defending champion France and Russia swept their semifinals Thursday and will play for the Fed Cup championship.
French Open champion Anastasia Myskina and U.S. Open winner Svetlana Kuznetsova won singles matches to power Russia past Austria 5-0. France, led by Nathalie Dechy and Tatiana Golovin, defeated Spain by the same score.
France beat Russia in the semifinals in Moscow last season. France will be playing in its third final this weekend, having won the previous two. Russia is in the fifth final but has never won.
"If we don't succeed in playing our best tennis, we have no chance to win at all," France captain Guy Forget said. "And if we do manage to play our best tennis from the first point to the last ¡ª which is not easy ¡ª maybe we have a small chance."
Myskina rallied past Yvonnes Meusburger 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 to give Russia an unbeatable 3-0 lead. Kuznetsova then routed Daniela Kix 6-1, 6-1, and the doubles team of Elena Likhovtseva and Kuznetsova completed the rout with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Meusburger and Patricia Wartusch.
"They have everything behind them," Dechy said. "They are playing on their stadium, they have the biggest team ever, so we can only make a surprise. And we are ready to do something good."
The Russian team faces a delicate matter after Myskina said she will quit the Fed Cup squad if Maria Sharapova joins the squad next year. Myskina says she doesn't like the Wimbledon champion's father.
Sharapova has never played for the team, and she wasn't invited because of her tight calendar, captain Shamil Tarpischev said. Myskina said her problem is with Sharapova's father and coach, Yuri.
"I feel his behavior is totally incorrect, simply rude. I don't want to be around people like him," Myskina said.
Myskina, ranked No. 3, and Kuznetsova, ranked No. 4, gave Russia a a 2-0 lead Wednesday against an Austrian team missing three key players. On Thursday, Myskina won three consecutive games only to lose the next six games and drop the set.
"She surprised me by playing very slowly and I couldn't catch her rhythm," Myskina said.
The Russian found her game in the second set and had no trouble in the third.
Kuznetsova needed just 39 minutes to dispatch with Kix, who replaced Wartusch.
Dechy put the French ahead 3-0, defeating Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-3, 6-1. Golovin then stopped Marta Marrero 6-3, 6-4, and Marion Bartoli and Emelie Loit downed Marrero and Virginia Ruano Pascual 7-5, 6-2 in doubles.
"It's the best result we could imagine," Dechy said. "We won all the matches in straight sets and didn't spend much time on the court. It's a good preparation for the final."
France's chances of keeping the title were once in doubt after second-ranked Amelie Mauresmo skipped the tournament to concentrate on next season. Then, two-time Grand Slam tournament champion Mary Pierce was sidelined with a sore shoulder. That left Dechy and Golovin, and they proved reliable.
Dechy, ranked 21st, clinched her fifth consecutive Fed Cup victory. The 16-year-old Russian-born Golovin, who made her Fed Cup singles debut Wednesday, won seven consecutive games to take the first set and a 4-0 lead in the second. Golovin has moved up 328 positions in the rankings to No. 27.
"I think I have the game for it," Golovin said. "It's just a matter of how consistent I am." |
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