Françoise Abanda's biggest win comes in her hometown of Montreal at Fed Cup

MONTREAL – The narrative going into the first day of Canada's Fed Cup World Group playoff tie Saturday against Romania was that 18-year-old Françoise Abanda had little chance against Romanian No. 1 Irina-Camela Begu, and that teammate Genie Bouchard, if she played close to the level she's capable of, would pull off the win.

But it turned out to be Abanda who saved the Canadians' day, a career-buzzing 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 over world No. 33 Begu that a few hours later, given Bouchard's defeat and the surround drama, might have gotten a little lost in the shuffle.

It deserved more attention. Abanda, ranked No. 260 in the world at age 18, is a player who has not won  many matches this season as she often punched above her weight class in big WTA tournaments when perhaps she should have stayed in the minor leagues honing her game and gaining experience.

But she's a player who has shown, in her brief career, that she's capable of rising to the big occasion. She took a set against Dominika Cibulkova, then a top-10 player who had reached the Australian Open final earlier in the year, last summer on the stadium court at the Rogers Cup in Montreal. And last fall, playing her idol Venus Williams in Quebec City, she gave an excellent account of herself in defeat.

Saturday in Montreal, she was more demonstrative than we've ever seen her, fought harder than maybe even she herself knew she could, and took advantage of some physical issues Begu was dealing with to gain confidence that it could be done.

The celebration - a leaping, beaming dance around the court that channelled a young Venus, was youthful, joyful, and entirely appropriate given the circumstances. And it was in stark contrast to Abanda's normally placid reactions on court. Even with Begu having issues with a cramp in her calf, it still took every ounce of fight and determination Abanda had to get it done.

Here's how it all went down.

"It's my biggest win so far in my career, so I’m really happy to get it done in Montreal. Hopefully I can have many more," Abanda said.

Canadian Fed Cup captain Sylvain Bruneau couldn''t comment on the victory until hours later; Abanda's press conference took place concurrently with the early stages of Bouchard's match. When he did come in, he accompanied Bouchard. The enthousiasm level you might have expected was, understandably, somewhat subdued.

Bouchard was sorry she couldn't give the team a 2-0 lead.

Abanda was beaming.

"I think it was a good reaction, one of joy. It was my first win in Fed Cup and I’ll remember this match for the rest of my life," she said.

Bouchard will be first up on Sunday, scheduled to play against her fellow No. 1, Begu. But the Romanian's physical state after the two hour, 40 minute marathon against Abanda was in question Saturday; the captains have until one hour before the match to make a change to the lineup. The alternative for Romanian captain  Alina Cercel-Tecsor is Fed Cup neophyte Andreea Mitu, ranked No. 104.

Bruneau will also have to see how Abanda pulls up Sunday morning after a tough physical slog. His alternative against Romanian No. 2 Alexandra Dulgheru is doubles specialist Gabriela Dabrowski, who as it happens is the top-ranked singles player he has after Bouchard but who hasn't shown the ability to rise to the big occasion the way her younger teammate has.

After Bouchard's match, Canada will either be leading the tie 2-1, or be down 1-2 with a must-win situation in the second singles match.