The Two Elenas Deliver a Semifinal Berth for Russia
Wins from world No. 5 Elena Dementieva and No. 14 Elena Bovina put defending champion Russia into the semifinals of the 2005 Fed Cup where they will host, likely in Moscow, the winner of the USA versus Belgium tie taking place this weekend in Florida. It was a day of missed opportunities for Italy and overcoming adversity for Russia but, in the end, two of the seemingly endless contingent of top Russian players came through for their country, defeating Italy 4-1.
Over the same weekend as the semifinals, Italy will compete in the Play-off round to see if they will play in World Group I or World Group II in the 2006 Fed Cup competition.
Dementieva won both of her singles matches, defeating Tathiana Garbin and Francesca Schiavone respectively, even though she was broken five times in each match. Her two-hour-35-minute victory over Schiavone today was even more remarkable because the Russian saved four match points in the second set before decimating her opponent 6-0 in the third.
Bovina, a replacement for Dinara Safina who lost to Schiavone on Saturday, had more trouble than she expected with Maria-Elena Camerin, breaking the Italian in the final game to win 63 36 62 in two hours. Camerin saved two match points before falling to Bovina and delighted the largely Italian crowd with her courage during the match.
Russia has a juggernaut of a team to call upon for the semifinals. French Open champion Anastasia Myskina had been nominated for the tie but withdrew due to injury earlier this week and surely is expected to compete in July. Russia’s other two Grand Slam champions, Maria Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova, have indicated that they will be available for selection this year and, with the women who won this first round tie also in the running, Russian captain Shamil Tarpischev will have some difficult choices to make.
His top player this week, Dementieva, snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, saving four match points in the second set of her match to defeat Schiavone 46 76(2) 60 and give Russia a 2-1 lead in the tie. Having dropped her serve five times against Garbin in the second singles, Dementieva continued to serve poorly throughout the match but benefited when Schiavone made critical errors on important points to give her the advantage. During a toilet break between the second and third sets, the body language of a deflated Schiavone foretold her collapse in the third set.
“Francesca played very well. It certainly was one of her best matches,” said Dementieva after the victory. “But the match turned after the four match points as I tried to resist her pressure. I was never really afraid of losing, especially during the match points, but she was very aggressive and very creative and kept changing her style of play which made it difficult for me.”
For the second day in a row, weather conditions in the Adriatic port city of Brindisi were near perfect for this first round Fed Cup tie. Sunday was a touch warmer than Saturday with the sunny skies and light breezes that are typical of this southern Italian city in April and, as the stadium at the Circolo Tennis Brindisi began to fill, there was a holiday atmosphere as the local fans hoped to see their team upset the Russians and advance to the semifinals.
After Schiavone’s loss, as if the weather were Italian, the skies over Brindisi became overcast and the temperature dropped a few degrees but improved during the match between Bovina and Camerin.
Bovina had it all her way in the opening set against Camerin 63 but Camerin charged back in the second and brought the crowd alive but their joy waned as she was unable to sustain the momentum against the higher ranked Bovina. Victory came at the two-hour mark in the match on Camerin’s serve. The plucky Italian saved two match points before losing her serve and the match to Bovina who had a subdued but very happy celebration with her teammates on the side of the court.
“I was never worried about winning, even if I lost concentration in the third set,” said Bovina. “And, in the third set, I had no doubt.”
“There was a lot of pressure on me to win,” continued Bovina, “but there would have been more if Elena had not won her match. It was great and we look forward to playing at home in front of our fans in July.”
In the final rubber, under cold and windy conditions, Vera Douchevina and Safina defeated Garbin and Mara Santangelo 63 75 to complete Russia’s 4-1 victory over Italy and put them on course to defend their 2004 Fed Cup title. While the fans in Brindisi no doubt hoped for a win for their country, they were treated to nearly eight hours of compelling tennis on Sunday and the Italian women will have made many friends among the public with their fighting spirit and good nature.
