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The Canadian Fed Cup team got a fright, but lead 2-0 after Bouchard and Wozniak win Saturday
QUEBEC CITY – They say anything can happen in Fed Cup when you’re wearing your country’s name on your back, an entire team is depending on you and a highly partisan – or unpartisan, if you’re the road team – crowd madly cheering you on.
That “anything” nearly did happen to the Canadian Fed Cup squad Saturday against Slovakia. A few points here and there, and the score after the first day of play could have been 1-1, or even 2-0 for the Slovaks.
Instead, Canada holds a commanding 2-0 lead after Genie Bouchard and Aleksandra Wozniak squeaked out a pair of three-set victories. And when No. 1 Canadian Bouchard takes the court at the Université Laval PEPS centre Sunday at 1 p.m. against Slovak No. 1 Jana Cepelova, she will be going for the win that will clinch the tie and make Canadian tennis history.
One more win, and the Canadians will earn a promotion to World Group I and be able to proudly count itself among the top eight nations in the world of women’s tennis.
The key victory, the more unexpected one, came from 26-year-old Wozniak, who was first up on the day.
She faced 20-year-old Cepelova, an up-and-coming player full of confidence and, at the moment, 100 spots higher in the WTA Tour rankings.
Cepelova won the first set, served for the match at 5-3 in the second set – and served for the match again at 5-3 in the third set.
Somehow, she lost it. Wozniak turned a dire situation around, defeating Cepelova 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 and giving Canada a 1-0 lead.
Following that, Bouchard had all sorts of trouble with No. 137-ranked Kristina Kucova before pulling off a 7-6 (0), 2-6, 6-1 victory.
“I’m not very happy with how I played, I’m a bit disappointed with the way I started; I think I was a bit slow. And in the second set I lost my concentration a bit. I looked around in the crowd and I saw someone with ski goggles; it affected me a little. I thought it was a bit bizarre,” said Bouchard, who came into her press conference with the usual assortment of stuffed animals, courtesy of her fans and the local chapter of the Genie Army.
“It was important to win the first set after I saved so many set points (four in all when Kucova served for the first set at 5-3) against me. I was more aggressive when I needed to be, but generally it was just a battle. She didn’t give me a lot of rhythm. She hit hard, but she also got a lot of my balls back,” Bouchard added. “I think I played well in the third and in the important moments to finish the match.”
Kucova, who hits two-handed off both the forehand and backhand, played well above the level you would expect given her ranking, and the fact that she has never broken into the top 100 on the WTA Tour.
Her teammate Cepelova played at exactly the level you could expect on her current form – except when she was ahead, and had the match on her strings. Then, she showed her young age and lack of experience.
“I wanted to win so much, and that was a problem,” said Cepelova, who arrived in Quebec straight from Charleston, S.C. where she defeated Serena Williams and reached the final of the big tournament there. “Today, it’s 12 days I’m here. I was waiting such a long time for the match, and I think it was also a physical problem for me, that I was tight.
“I think I played very well, and she also, of course. But it was (in) my hands, the whole match,” Cepelova added. “Maybe (experience) was a little bit of a deciding factor. She’s played a lot of matches for Fed Cup competition, and this was just my second match.”
Cepelova’s first serve barely cracks 130 km/hour most of the time. Her technique isn’t exactly out of the textbook. And her drop shots tended to work a lot better when she was behind than when she was ahead Saturday.
But that variety, that unorthodox game plan, gave Wozniak fits. Cepelova also has very nimble feet and a whole lot of speed and determination.
“You never got the same ball twice. She changed the pace on the rallies, she hit, then she varied it – and then came up with a big shot. It took me awhile to read her game,” Wozniak said. “I was so in my bubble I didn’t even notice if she was nervous or not; I was just trying to put the pressure on.
“I think it was a match of determination and perseverance. If you don’t give up, it pays off,” she added. “I think I brought everything today.”
If Bouchard can’t clinch the tie against Cepelova, Wozniak would be up to try to do it against Kucova – or possibly substitute Anna Schmiedlova, if the leg issue that affected Kucova late in the match isn’t resolved by Sunday.
In the worst-case scenario, and it goes to the fifth and deciding rubber, you’d have to think Sharon Fichman might partner up with Bouchard in the doubles rather than Gabriela Dabrowski, who is currently scheduled.
But if all goes according to plan, it won’t come to that.
