Following their stunning upset over the United States earlier in February, #Australia looked to book a spot in the 2019 #FedCup final although they were met with some formidable opponents, the 2017 finalists #Belarus. The venue for this tie should not come foreign to the players as they are playing at the site of the Brisbane International, with the home team hoping to spur on their players with the exuberant home support.
Saturday’s singles match both featured a clash between a Grand Slam champion and a current Top 10 player, and it was a relatively huge surprise when Belarus captain Tatiana Poutchek did not field their second-ranked #AliaksandraSasnovich and instead put out former world number one Victoria Azarenka. Alicia Molik, captain of the Australian team, also surprised everyone when she nominated Samantha Stosur, who is infamously known for her struggles at home, for singles action too.
Just like the other World Group semifinal clash between Romania and France, this tie ended 1-1 after the first day of play with little to separate both nations. The top-10 players proved to be playing at a notch higher than their more experienced counterparts, with #ArynaSabalenka and #AshleighBarty triumphing over #SamanthaStosur and #VictoriaAzarenka respectively.
Sabalenka survives a huge scare
Both Stosur and Sabalenka struggled behind their second serves throughout the match — winning a combined 26 points out of 95 possible. With both players being huge servers and hard-hitters, it was a surprise when 40 break points surfaced with 17 of them being converted. Stosur was determined to seal the win in front of a supportive home crowd, but she narrowly missed it as Sabalenka overcame 15 double-faults to prevail 7-5, 5-7, 6-3 after a marathon two-hours and 47-minutes of action.
Stosur led by a break thrice in the opening frame, but was unable to consolidate her break on any occasion as Sabalenka came roaring back to claim the pivotal hold in the eleventh game with a backhand winner, saving three break points in the process. The pressure was handed back to the home favourite, and after some hustle, she was unable to defend against the inspired Sabalenka and conceded the first set 5-7.
Leading by a set and a break, Belarus seemed headed towards a convincing victory in the opening rubber. However, Stosur did what so many players could not: stay strong mentally and continue to dig deep. She stunned the home crowd by breaking serve for five consecutive times, claiming what would be only the third hold of the set to comfortably serve out the second set to level the scores.
The shoulder strapping on Sabalenka’s shoulders was a worry for her fans, and it seemed as though everything was going against her as she started the final set with yet another scare. She put herself in danger by falling behind 15-40, although she saved herself from the brink by sending in a huge forehand and an ace. That hold proved to be her most important one of the day — as she went on to break serve in the fourth game to open a commanding 4-1 lead. Despite Stosur’s toughest efforts to level the scores, it was ultimately Sabalenka who proved her worth and led her country to an early 1-0 lead.
Barty controls the proceedings
Doubles partners a month ago, Barty and Azarenka are now rivals fighting for their countries. Coming into the match with a 1-0 lead in their head-to-head record, Azarenka failed to rekindle the same performance as she showed in Tokyo last year as Barty put up an inspired performance to help her nation level the scoreboard.
Both Barty and Azarenka had a shaky start on serve, being forced to save break points in their opening service games before being broken twice each to keep the scores level at 3-3. Barty was the more disciplined player on the court, attempting to outlast Azarenka who was impatient at times. Facing a pivotal break point in the eighth game, the Belarusian let out a huge scream after narrowly surviving that game, keeping in touch with her higher-ranked opponent.
Down 5-5, 0-40, Barty’s hopes were diminished — but not extinguished. She displayed moments of excellence to claim the confidence-boosting hold, and disallowed Azarenka from earning the chance to serve out the set. The Australian then played a flawless tiebreak, recovering from an early 0-2 deficit to rattle off seven consecutive points.
Barty was flawless throughout the second set; committing just one solitary unforced error while hitting eight winners. Azarenka was struggling, especially on her forehand wing, as Barty’s slices proved to be the biggest frustration for her. It was a high-quality match, with the Australian eventually triumphing with a tight 7-6, 6-3 scoreline.
Looking forward to Day 2: Any substitutions in store?
Day 2 of this tie will see an all-top-10 clash between Sabalenka and Barty, which will kick off proceedings. However, the fourth singles rubber would be highly-anticipated as there is a huge chance that both team captains would make changes to their line-up.
Australia has #DariaGavrilova available, and with the high possibility of a decisive doubles rubber being played, they might replace Stosur with her younger compatriot. Belarus has their second-ranked Aliaksandra Sasnovich untouched yet — otherwise they will still go with their initial choice, Azarenka, who has a winning record against both Stosur and Gavrilova.
The doubles clash will be highly intriguing if we get there. Australia has two doubles top-20 players in Barty and Stosur. Barty won the 2018 US Open while Stosur was the recent champion of the Australian Open, albeit both did it with different partners. Despite so, Belarus would not be lacking in power as well, with former doubles Major champion Azarenka and doubles specialist #LidziyaMarozava available in store.
Comments