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World No. 803 Aleksandra Wozniak musters up some Fed Cup magic and leaves Canada tied 1-1 after Day 1 of Fed Cup vs. Belarus

World No. 803 Aleksandra Wozniak musters up some Fed Cup magic and leaves Canada tied 1-1 after Day 1 of Fed Cup vs. Belarus

Françoise Abanda had a winnable match to open Canada's Fed Cup quest, but couldn't quite close the door.

Enter 28-year-old Aleksandra Wozniak, currently ranked No. 803, who hadn't even won a tournament match since last September, to face Belarus No. 1 Olga Govortsova.

A contemporary of Wozniak's, Govortsova had to step into the "leadership" role once it was confirmed that top player Victoria Azarenka would be a no-show. And if that pressure was weighing on her, it showed Saturday as Wozniak romped to a 6-2, 6-2 victory that tied the tie at 1-1 going into Sunday's play.

Abanda came close, but eventually fell to 21-year-old Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.

The 19-year-old should have won the first set, did win the second, but her level fell off in the third as the slightly more experienced Sasnovich took over. Abanda has pulled off great Fed Cup efforts before, against players ranked higher than the No. 99 from Belarus. But not this time.

"I think it played out in the pressure moments, the important moments. I think we were neck and neck throughout the match," Abanda said in her press conference. "(Sasnovich) played maybe a little more intelligently in the third set in the key moments, but there wasn’t a huge difference."

For Wozniak, the biggest challenge in returning to play after nearly a year's absence has been on the serve, after the shoulder surgery she underwent in the fall of 2014 fixed an issue that had handicapped her for several years, but left her vulnerable in that area. The groundstrokes – particularly the sweet two-handed backhand, always a world-class shot – were intact. The outward calm in tight situations also remains.

Canada's Francoise Abanda returns a shot to Belarus' Aliaksandra Sasnovich during the opening match of the Fed Cup tie, Saturday Feb. 6, 2016, in Quebec City. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot
Canada's Francoise Abanda returns a shot to Belarus' Aliaksandra Sasnovich during the opening match of the Fed Cup tie, Saturday Feb. 6, 2016, in Quebec City. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot

But Govortsova couldn't capitalize. Wozniak served at just 44 per cent in the first set. But she had a better success percentage on her shaky second serve than her first serve. Conversely, Wozniak crushed Govortsova's second serve, winning 7-of-9 points.

Wozniak upped her first-serve percentage in the second set but again, did slightly better when she had to play a second serve. Govortsova, who had been playing well below her level, rallied some but still, Wozniak pounded her second serve a little more, played nicely inside the baseline, took the ball early and fought off break points. Again, Govortsova let her off the hook more than a few times.

In the end, the Belarussian played well below her level and Wozniak played far better than recent form would have suggested – the standard recipe for an upset. The Blainville, Que. native has always come through for her country; this was her 40th Fed Cup victory. And this time was no exception despite the two-year gap since her last participation.

"I‘m so excited to be back here. They are incredible, they’re the best fans in the world when we play at home," Wozniak said during her on-court interview after the victory. "My focus was to play one point at a time and compete on each one and I think I did that well. I haven't played a lot of matches in my comeback so I am very pleased that I was able to play at that level.”

Govortsova won't have much time to shake off a poor performance. As the No. 1, she will be right back on court, first up at noon Sunday, against Abanda to try to give Belarus a 2-1 lead. Wozniak will then play Sasnovich and if the tie is knotted at 2-2, the doubles will decide it.

“I think she played really well today. It was a little bit tough for me because I’ve only had a few matches in the last four months. But she started really well and in the second set I kind of found my game," Govortsova. "It was 4-0 but we had a really long game at 4-2, but she won it and so it was really tough after that.”

Canada's Marie-Eve Pelletier, right, (with Sharon Fichman, who didn't make the team this time) was a loyal Fed Cup player for years. Saturday, she was in a broadcasting role, along with former teammate Stéphanie Dubois on the English-language side. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Canada's Marie-Eve Pelletier, right, (with Sharon Fichman, who didn't make the team this time) was a loyal Fed Cup player for years. Saturday, she was in a broadcasting role, along with former teammate Stéphanie Dubois on the English-language side. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Gabriela Dabrowski, the only Canadian female player with a doubles ranking inside the top 50, is in the lineup with Carol Zhao, the fourth member of the squad and a Fed Cup rookie. They also are the two best doubles players on the team, and combined to win gold at the PanAmerican Games in Toronto last summer.

The broadcast coverage of the tie is patchy, at best. With daytime hockey going Saturday, Sportsnet relegated the matches to online streaming, and did not have its more experienced tennis crew on site in Quebec City. It showed, in their relative unfamiliarity with the players and their storylines. A plus was the Sportsnet commentating debut of Quebecer Stéphanie Dubois, recently retired after more than a decade as a pro, who was working in her second language (even though she recently married an Englishman).

Dubois brought good intel to the job Saturday. Not only had she played Sasnovich once, she faced Govortsova five times during her career, the last time in 2010 at the very same venue in Quebec City. Before she retired, she was coached by Bruno Echagaray (who is currently Abanda's coach) and before that, by Pierre-Luc Tessier, who is currently working with Wozniak.

On the French-language side, another retired former Fed Cup stalwart, Marie-Eve Pelletier, was the analyst on TVA. Unfortunately, she and host Paul Rivard appeared stuck in a Montreal studio, not live on site. The network did have a reporter there, but he appeared a little at sea with the tennis thing.

The second and final day begins at noon Sunday, with three possible matches on tap.