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by Prip Day 2 of the Federation Cup match-up between Italy, Spain, Germany and Croatia. Today would see the lowest collectively-ranked team against the highest, Croatia versus Spain. In a surprise turn of events to most, Sasa Hirszon decided to play Iva Majoli instead of Silvija Talaja. Little mystery there -- Silvija had been playing terribly anyway, and Jelena Kostanic wanted revenge on Conchita Martinez. The youngster had been frustrated against the many tricky shots the Spaniard had thrown against her in the Australian Open, losing that first encounter 6-4 6-4, but had come away hungry for another chance. The crowd was delighted to see the 1997 Roland Garros champ walk onto the court, considering Majoli is still a more familiar name than Talaja, despite the fact that Iva has only just resurfaced on the tour. Facing more mental problems than anything else, everyone waited to see how she would do against Arantxa. Iva Majoli (CRO) versus Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario (ESP) The match started like it was going to be a demolition. Arantxa was a clear top dog here in Bari, and looked more like she was on vacation than playing crucial tennis for her country. Then, to everyone's surprise, even the initially rather indifferent-looking Croatian team, Iva started putting more sting in her shots, clearly knowing where and how she was going to hit the ball. Arantxa looked a little shell-shocked, and all of a sudden found herself three games lost and trailing 2-3. Even more surprising was that, while at first, Iva got more and more frustrated watching would-be winners come back with so much pace and placement, she was now actually getting clear winners off the Human Wall. Arantxa soon got it in her head that she wasn't playing a mere pushover, though, and got into gear. Spurred on by the Croatian team who were now on the edge of their seats, Iva continued to play tennis like she did 3 years ago. Arantxa got the break and consolidated it to go up 5-3. Not satisfied to simply slink away like a broken spirit, Iva fought hard, and actually managed to force some errors off Arantxa's racquet! She managed to stave off losing the first set, holding serve for 5-4, but then started to make some silly mistakes, and against Arantxa, unforced errors are not a luxury many can afford. Arantxa took the first set 6-4 after a sloppy game from Iva. Both players started the second set well, and even the average-sized crowd was cheering for their respective favourites. Both players held serve to open the set, but Arantxa got the early break and consolidated it to go up 3-1. Looking frustrated, a little tired (no doubt no longer used to the mental and physical demands) but still determined, Iva had a quick wipe-down with the towel, thinking hard about the task at hand. After a short struggle, Iva held serve to bring it to 2-3, but that would be the last game that she got off the Spanish Number 2. Her forehand started to become erratic, and Arantxa quickly picked up on it. Targeting Iva's forehand side, Arantxa got error after error off her opponent's racquet, and took the last 3 games to finish up the match 6-4 6-2. Not a bad match at all, but Iva definitely ran out of steam at the end while Arantxa, smelling blood, finished it off quickly. Something very nice happened after the match, though. I happened to be walking behind Arantxa, and of course, the many kids and ballkids were following her, asking for autographs. Just as she was about to enter the "restricted area," a Japanese lady walked up to her, looking all excited. As I came nearer, I heard Arantxa say, "Okay, then you come with me." Not believing what was happening, the Japanese girl went off with Arantxa and her teammates. Later, I happened to see the Japanese girl again, and she was proudly looking at the Spanish Federation Cup hat that Arantxa had signed and given to her. She had actually been in Napoli, but when she heard that her "heroine" Arantxa was in Bari playing Fed Cup, she came for one day just to see her. She had written a letter on the way, and was delighted to have been able to give it to the Spaniard. Sanchez fans will certainly know that Arantxa has always been very gracious to her fans, and the good news is, unlike some other players, she still is.
Round Two. I could almost hear the bell ring when the two players walked up to the court. Looking very serious even during the warm-up, Jelena was definitely up for a battle. Even her coach, who usually looks as relaxed as he would be by the beach ("It's not my match," he says casually), was looking a little more tense than usual. Spain won the toss, and Conchita elected to serve. Jelena jumped at the chance to break early, and got the first four points with extremely aggressive tennis. In the first 5 minutes, the crowd had turned into Croatian supporters. Jelena couldn't keep her accuracy up, though, and Conchita's "tricky shots" started to wreak havoc with her. Constantly talking to herself (like her fellow Croat and idol Goran Ivanisevic who plays at the same club as her), Jelena chastised herself after every error, eyes squinted in concentration and determination. After losing 4 games in a row, she finally managed to hold her forehand together long enough to hold serve and bring it to 2-4. Jelena had been working on hitting the high double-handed backhands, and was having no problems with that, thanks to her stronger-looking abdominal muscles and shoulders, and of course, her footspeed could always be relied on to get her on good position. The youngster was doing well to hit the ball early and on the rise, but was having a bit of trouble with her forehand. Conchita herself had a little more trouble playing a player more consistent and less flamboyant than Tathiana Garbin. Jelena controlled her tendency to be impatient, took her time constructing points, and managed to break back. Unfortunately, that was as far as she could last mentally. In a total lapse of concentration, she committed unforced error after unforced error, and gave the break back. She fought hard in the next game, pinning Conchita to the baseline and somehow getting the short response, but it was too little too late, and Conchita took the first set 6-3. The troubles for Jelena continued into the next set, her shots missing the lines by inches. Growing increasingly frustrated, she watched game after game slip away, until she finally managed to hold herself together long enough, cutting down on unforced errors to bring it to 4-1. Playing like she had nothing to lose, Jelena played recklessly, and while that gave her one more game for 2-4, her forehand started running wild, and Conchita punctuated match point with an ace.
Time for the Spanish doubles pair to come on court again, and Iva Majoli certainly seemed to be the odd one on the doubles court. Jelena was again absolutely beautiful on the court, and this time, her partner was doing well to keep up with her. The Spanish pair were no slouches either, but Jelena and Iva were far too good for them, and after yet another entertaining doubles match which dragged a little too long in the end due to errors from both Jelena and Iva, the Croats took their first victory of the day, 6-3 7-6(3).
Elsewhere in the world, the Czech Republic continued their success from the previous day, defeating Switzerland 2-1. Kveta Hrdlickova defeated Emmanuelle Gagliardi 6-1 7-6(4), Patty Schnyder equaled it for her team by defeating Denisa Chladkova 6-2 6-2, but Daja Bedanova and Kveta Hrdlickova clinched it for their country by defeating Emmanuelle and Patty 4-6 6-1 6-1. In Moscow, no surprises as France got a 2-1 victory against Australia. Nathalie Dechy defeated Nicole Pratt 6-4 5-7 6-2, and Jelena Dokic once again shone for her country (despite initially refusing to play for it in the Olympics) by defeating Sandrine Testud 6-7(4) 7-5 6-3. Julie Halard-Decugis and Nathalie Tauziat once again waltzed through their opposition in the doubles match, though, with a 6-0 7-6(3) win against Alicia Molik and Rennae Stubbs. |