St. Petersburg: Wickmayer vs. Ostapenko
Yanina Wickmayer takes on Jelena Ostapenko in the first round of the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
Yanina Wickmayer takes on Jelena Ostapenko in the first round of the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
MELBOURNE, Australia – Ash Barty is ready to make her return to tennis. After announcing her plans to step away from the sport seventeen months ago, the 19-year-old Australian has found her passion rekindled and the freshness she needed to return to the game she so desperately loves.
A Junior Wimbledon champion at the age of 15, Barty quickly became a three-time Grand Slam finalist alongside her compatriot Casey Dellacqua. Barty and Dellacqua put together a stunning 2013 season, making the finals at the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. She reached a career-high doubles ranking of No.12 just two years after being the No.2 junior. And those weren’t even her favorite memory of her teenage years. Barty’s favorite moment?
“Winning my first Fed Cup live rubber against Switzerland,” she told WTA Insider via phone from Brisbane. “There’s nothing quite like playing for Australia. That was a pretty phenomenal feeling. That’s close to the three finals with Casey or winning junior Wimbledon. But I think playing for Australia is the cream of the crop and that was pretty special.”
Junior champion. Grand Slam finals. Fed Cup winner. All before she was 18. It all came fast. Too fast.
“It was obviously phenomenal, but it all happened a little bit too quickly,” Barty said. “I went from not being known anywhere in the world to winning junior Wimbledon and six months later playing the Australian Open. I was a victim of my own success, really. We had plans to play in those tournaments, not expecting those results. If you win the Wildcard Playoff you can’t really say, ‘Oh, I actually don’t want the wildcard.’
“Obviously I was very young, but I turn 20 this year and it’s a different perspective on life and tennis in general. I’ll be able to do it my way a little bit more. If it works, great. If it doesn’t, I can’t really complain. I’ve had a phenomenal career for the short time that I did play. I’m just prepared to work up that slow grind up the ITFs and hopefully be up with the WTA soon.”
This time there will be no shortcuts to success.
“I could have taken a protected ranking and walked in there next week but that’s not really what I want. I’m starting fresh and I can go through the process a little bit better this time and get it a little bit more suitable for me.”
Barty’s decision to step away from a promising young career at just 17-years-old stunned many. She had a top-notch doubles career and though her singles career followed a more gradual and expected path, she was consistently improving. She toiled away on the ITF circuit and battled – more successfully than not – through qualifying to earn her spot in the main draw.
In 2013 she reached the second round at the French Open and Wimbledon. But as 2014 wound down, the joy was gone. So to save herself and her career, she announced an indefinite hiatus.
“I love the sport of tennis, but I sort of got a little bit away from what I really wanted to do. It became robotic for me and that’s not what I wanted. It’s such an amazing sport and I just really wanted to enjoy it and I lost that enjoyment and that passion.
“I think deep down I knew if I kept trying to drive on through it, it would drive me away completely. So it was the right time to step away and just refresh.
“I had done it previously, in smaller stints. A few weeks here or there. But this time I knew I needed a little more time and didn’t put a time limit on it. It just so happens to be that 16, 17 months later, I’m refreshed and ready to go again.”
Aside from having the Australian Open running in the background last year, Barty paid little attention to what was happening on tour during her time away. Instead, being the preternaturally talented teen that she is, she turned to cricket. In October, Barty signed on to play professional cricket with the Brisbane Heat in the inaugural Women’s Big Bash league.
“It was an unbelievable opportunity to completely do something really different. The support and everything I got from cricket was phenomenal. Having that competitive edge brought me back into that aspect of tennis, as well, getting out there and competing and sharing it with other people.
“It was just nice to refresh and do something different.”
So at just 19 years old, Ash Barty had already played two sports professionally – a tribute to her natural athletic ability, phenomenal hand/eye coordination, and feel. But when push came to shove, only one sport proved to be her true calling.
“Tennis in the end, it just makes sense to me.”
Nothing specific triggered Barty’s decision to give tennis another go. There was no lightbulb moment or moment of clarity. She said the decision was a gradual and natural process, one that began when she flew down to Melbourne for last month’s Australian Open and hit with a few promising young players at Melbourne Park. On a trip up to Sydney, she visited Dellacqua and had a hit as well. With each hit her level improved and Barty began to feel the hunger to compete once again.
“After I hit a few times throughout the time away, I hit the ball ok each time . I realized after hitting a few times it was just what I’m probably meant to be doing in life.”
That nonchalant attitude about, what she calls “Tennis 2.0”, was borne out of a newfound perspective on life and the sport. She is ready to get back to doing the hard work, playing the matches, and competing. And should that spotlight come circling back, she feels better equipped to handle it today.
“I’m prepared to commit myself fully to getting back into tennis. That’s the only way to do it, and that’s why I’m taking it slowly in the beginning. There’s no point in jumping back on tour and realizing six months later that this is not what I want. This gives me the opportunity to work my way into it.
“Second time around you really do learn a lot from the first time and already I’m able to sit down and take a different perspective.”
For the time being, Barty will work alone, with an eye towards hitting as many balls as her body will allow.
“I know my game back to front and I know what I need to work on. Right now it’s about volume, hitting a lot of tennis balls again. So I’ll just go by myself for the first couple of months and use a few mates, and I suppose once I get into it a little bit I’ll have discussions with Tennis Australia about what we’re going to do moving forward and we’ll see how we go.”
Playing doubles in a $25,000 ITF Challenger tournament this week in Perth, Barty is keeping expectations in check as she kicks off her comeback. Ash is perfectly fine with that; it’s not like Australia is exactly starved of top players right now.
“We’re in a really exciting period in Australian tennis. We have Sam Stosur and Dash [Daria Gavrilova] leading from the front in singles and Casey’s a world class doubles player, still Top 5 in the world. I’m just really excited to be back in the fold soon. Hopefully not too far away from being up with those girls.
“I just know deep down that I’m refreshed and ready to go again. I’m starting from scratch and that’s no worries at all.”
No worries at all? That hasn’t always been the case for Ash Barty. It’s heartening to think that may ring true once again.
Pretty pumped to be out hitting a few balls again! Can't wait to kickstart in Perth over the next fortnight☺️☺️#2.0 pic.twitter.com/94weIwYErG
— Ash Barty (@ashbar96) February 8, 2016
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – There are few, if any, nationalities quite so fiercely patriotic as the Russians.
This pride manifests itself in all walks of life, from politics to arts to sports. Take Svetlana Kuznetsova’s unexpected – and emotional – surge to last year’s Kremlin Cup, the famous old Olimpiyskiy indoor arena whipped up in nationalistic fervor for her all-Russian final with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
It is a pity, then, that – aside from the occasional Fed Cup tie – this tournament has provided the sole opportunity for Russia’s golden generation to shine on home soil.
This year, though, has seen a second event, in the country’s old capital St. Petersburg, added to the calendar.
While several of the country’s leading lights – including World No.6 Maria Sharapova – have elected against making the trip home, the presence of Pavlyuchenkova, Margarita Gasparyan and Daria Kasatkina ensured the home nation was well represented in Saturday’s draw.
Two more home-grown talents, at very different stages of their respective careers, are also present in the 28-strong field: Elena Vesnina and Natalia Vikhlyantseva.
For 18-year-old Vikhlyantseva the tournament offers the opportunity to showcase her talents on a bigger stage, while Vesnina will be looking to use it as a springboard back to the top.
Less than three years ago, Vesnina, playing the tennis of her career, was knocking on the door to the Top 20. A shoulder injury and loss of form halted this rise, and Vesnina, who faces Alizé Cornet in the first round, knows the tournament represents an opportunity.
“The WTA is hard; you’re practicing every single day and we’re travelling all over the world, far away from our families,” Vesnina told wtatennis.com. “So it’s great to leave at the end of the week with the trophy and know that it’s all worth it.”
Despite being raised in Sochi, Vesnina is familiar with Russia’s second city from her childhood and excited about her return – this time on business.
“It’s very special. And it’s very special because it’s in St. Petersburg, that’s one of the most beautiful cities in Russia and I’ve really loved the city since childhood – I was coming here with my family to visit the historical parts – and I know the city really well.
“It’s great to have another event in Russia because we have so many young players and upcoming stars and it’s great they have the opportunity to play at home, gets some points and maybe get their first title here. That’s just wonderful and I’m really looking forward to play my first match here.”
Chinese New Year is Monday, February 8, and in the spirit of the holidays we’re looking at the Chinese Zodiac, where each of the 12 years in the cycle is represented by an animal sign and thus their reputed attributes: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.
2016 is the Year of the Monkey, which makes it an extra special Chinese New Year for former No.1 Venus Williams and Fed Cup heroine Karolina Pliskova, who led the Czech Republic to a 3-2 victory over Romania this weekend with three wins in singles and doubles. Most auspiciously, Williams and Pliskova ended the 2015 season by reaching the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai final, which the American won to finish the year ranked inside the Top 10 for the first time in five years.
Which animals are the Top 50 players on the WTA? The birth years range from 1980 to 1997…
Monkey (1980, 1992)
Venus Williams
Karolina Pliskova
Rooster (1981, 1993)
Serena Williams
Garbiñe Muguruza
Caroline Garcia
Sloane Stephens
Kristina Mladenovic
Monica Puig
Dog (1982, 1994)
Flavia Pennetta
Elina Svitolina
Annika Beck
Daria Gavrilova
Alison Van Uytvanck
Margarita Gasparyan
Anna Karolina Schmiedlova
Danka Kovinic
Pig (1983, 1995)
Roberta Vinci
Madison Keys
Rat (1984, 1996)
Samantha Stosur
Ox (1985, 1997)
Jelena Jankovic
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Belinda Bencic
Tiger (1986)
Barbora Strycova
Varvara Lepchenko
Rabbit (1987)
Lucie Safarova
Maria Sharapova
Sara Errani
Andrea Petkovic
Monica Niculescu
Ana Ivanovic
Dragon (1988)
Ekaterina Makarova
Angelique Kerber
Carla Suárez Navarro
Snake (1989)
Agnieszka Radwanska
Lesia Tsurenko
Sabine Lisicki
Timea Bacsinszky
Victoria Azarenka
Horse (1990)
Petra Kvitova
Caroline Wozniacki
Alizé Cornet
Irina-Camelia Begu
Mona Barthel
Sheep (1991)
Johanna Konta
Simona Halep
Camila Giorgi
CoCo Vandeweghe
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
The Winners:
A week off from the WTA tour meant many players scattered the globe to represent their countries in the Fed Cup. A number of young stars rose to the occasion, scoring big wins on the international group competition’s stage. See how Netherland’s Kiki Bertens, Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic, France’s Caroline Garcia and the Czech Republic’s Karolina Pliskova helped their countries book a spot in the Fed Cup semifinals.
Day 1 Recap | Day 2 Recap
Game, Set, Match: WTA Insider
Game: Ash Barty returns to tennis.
To see the overwhelming response to the news that Ashleigh Barty intends to end her 17-month hiatus and return to tennis is to be reminded of the 19-year-old’s special talent. A three-time major doubles finalist before she was even 18, Barty was still progressing towards a Top 100 breakthrough in singles when she chose to suddenly step away. In an exclusive interview with WTA Insider, the junior Wimbledon champion spoke about being the victim of her own success and the passion that pushed her to pick up a racket again.
Read more about Barty’s return here.
Set: Tennis comes to (the other) St. Petersburg.
Things can get a little confusing when your company headquarters share the same name as a new tournament host. St. Petersburg, Russia is the host of a new Premier tournament this week, with a draw that includes Belinda Bencic, Roberta Vinci, Caroline Wozniacki, and Ana Ivanovic. Given the young Russian talent currently in the ranks, having a second tournament in Russia to complement Moscow will pay off down the road.
Match: Bencic and Pliskova play Fed Cup heroes.
When the draw came out it was brutal to see Simona Halep’s Romanian squad draw the defending champion Czech Republic. Angelique Kerber’s Germany had it equally tough, having drawn a Swiss squad led by Bencic, Timea Bacsinszky, and Martina Hingis. Karolina Pliskova played the hero for the Czechs in their 3-2 win over Romania, with Pliskova playing a part in all three points. Similarly, it was Bencic leading the way for Switzerland, earning two singles wins over Andrea Petkovic and Kerber and teaming up with Hingis to beat Petkovic and Anna-Lena Groenefeld. The Czechs and the Swiss will face off in a big semifinal in April.
On the other side of the World Group bracket, Caroline Garcia led the way for France with two singles wins en route to a 4-1 win over Italy. And The Netherlands stunned Russia, with Kiki Bertens and Rachel Hogenkamp teaming up to beat Svetlana Kuznetsova and Ekaterina Makarova to win 3-0.
Upcoming Tournaments:
St Petersburg Ladies Trophy
St. Petersburg, Russia
Premier | $687,900 | Hard, Indoors
Monday, February 8 – Sunday, February 14, 2016
Taiwan Open
Kaohsiung, Taiwan
International | $426,750 | Hard, Outdoors
Monday, February 8 – Sunday, February 14, 2016
Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Premier | $1,734,900 | Hard, Outdoors
Monday, February 15 – Saturday, February 20, 2016
Rio Open
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
International | $226,750 | Clay
Monday, February 15 – Sunday, February 21, 2016
Qatar Total Open
Doha, Qatar
Premier | $2,517,250 | Hard, Outdoors
Sunday, February 21 – Saturday, February 27, 2016
Abierto Mexicano TELCEL
Acapulco, Mexico
International | $226,750 | Hard, Outdoors
Monday, February 22 – Saturday, February 27, 2016
Top 20 Player Schedules:
1. Serena Williams – Dubai, Doha
2. Angelique Kerber – Dubai, Doha
3. Simona Halep – Dubai, Doha
4. Agnieszka Radwanska – Dubai, Doha
5. Garbiñe Muguruza – Dubai, Doha
6. Maria Sharapova – Doha
7. Flavia Pennetta – (retired)
8. Carla Suárez Navarro – Dubai, Doha
9. Petra Kvitova – Doha
10. Lucie Safarova – Dubai, Doha
11. Belinda Bencic – St. Petersburg, Dubai, Doha
12. Venus Williams – Kaohsiung
13. Karolina Pliskova – Doha
14. Victoria Azarenka – Acapulco
15. Timea Bacsinszky – Dubai, Doha
16. Roberta Vinci – St. Petersburg, Dubai, Doha
17. Svetlana Kuznetsova – Dubai, Doha
18. Caroline Wozniacki – St. Petersburg, Dubai, Doha
19. Jelena Jankovic – Dubai, Doha
20. Ana Ivanovic – St. Petersburg, Dubai
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
Best wishes to those celebrating birthdays this week:
Petra Cetkovska (CZE) – February 8, 1985
Casey Dellacqua (AUS) – February 11, 1985
Magda Linette (POL) – February 12, 1992
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – The comeback continued for two-time Wimbledon quarterfinalist Tamira Paszek on Monday, as the Austrian dispatched 2005 French Open quarterfinalist Sesil Karatantcheva, 7-6(3), 6-4, to reach the main draw of the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
Watch live action from St. Petersburg & Kaohsiung this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Once a Top 30 player, Paszek came back to the game last spring and has rocketed up nearly 140 spots in the rankings since last fall. Starting the season at No.172, she had to play qualifying at the ASB Classic and the Australian, going on to reach the semifinals of the former to put herself within striking distance of a Top 100 return.
“The good part about playing qualies is that you get a lot of matches, and you get a good rhythm, which is especially important at the beginning of the year,” the 25-year-old told WTA Insider in January. “I’ve always been the type of person that tries to see the positive aspect of things, so I’m really looking forward to it.”
Awaiting the Austrian in the main draw is Carina Witthoeft; the two played once before in French Open qualifying back in 2014, with Paszek winning, 6-0, 6-1.
Joining Paszek in the main draw is Klara Koukalova; the former World No.20, who took out Patricia Maria Tig, 6-4, 6-3.
All four qualifiers will be in action again on Tuesday, along with Fed Cup heroines Monica Niculescu – who nearly led an upset of defending champion Czech Republic with a win over two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova – and Barbora Strycova, who took part in the decisive doubles rubber to defeat Romania, 3-2.
Niculescu begins her tournament as the No.9 seed – so bumped when Anna Karolina Schmiedlova withdrew due to a right ankle sprain – and takes on local wildcard Natalia Vikhlyantseva. Strycova takes on one of the qualifiers, Kateryna Kozlova; Kozlova defeated top qualifying seed Laura Siegemund, but the German nonetheless found her way into the main draw as a lucky loser.
Closing out play on Tuesday will be a pair of Russians, No.5 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and the fast-rising Margarita Gasparyan, who take on Koukalova and Bojana Jovanovski, respectively.
KAOHSUING, Taiwan – Misaki Doi’s finally roused her slumbering campaign to life on Monday with a straight set win over Kristyna Pliskova at the Taiwan Open.
Watch live action from St. Petersburg & Kaohsiung this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
A miserable start to 2016 saw Doi fall at the first hurdle in Auckland, Hobart and finally the Australian Open. The third and final of these defeats Down Under was particularly galling, Doi holding a match point against eventual champion Angelique Kerber in the first round of the Australian Open.
Perhaps buoyed by Kerber’s subsequent heroics at Melbourne Park, Doi came out with a spring in her step against Pliskova, breaking serve twice to take the first set. She repeated the trick in the second set to wrap up a 6-3, 6-4 victory in little over an hour.
Also advancing in the bottom half of the draw was qualifier Yuxuan Zhang, a 5-7, 7-6(3), 6-2 winner over lucky loser Hiroko Kuwata.
Meanwhile, in the top half there were wins for Urszula Radwanska and Anastasija Sevastova.
Radwanska was given a stern examination by local wildcard Hsu Ching-Wen, before coming through, 6-4, 7-6(1). Sevastova was pushed even harder, fighting back to see off Kristina Kucova, 4-6, 7-6(0), 7-6(3), in a match lasting nearly two and a half hours.
Tuesday will see most of the remaining seeds, including home favorite Hsieh Su-Wei, in first round action. The only exception is top seed Venus Williams, who will wait until Wednesday to get her challenge underway against Lee Pei-Chi.
Five Top 20 players are in action this week in two WTA events that are being staged for the first time.
Here’s 10 Things To Know about St. Petersburg and Kaohsiung!
1) St. Petersburg has four Top 20 players in the draw.
No.11 Belinda Bencic, No.16 Roberta Vinci, No.18 Caroline Wozniacki and No.20 Ana Ivanovic are all in action this week at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
2) This is the first edition of St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy as a WTA Premier event.
The event was previously held six times as an ITF tournament (from 2003-2008 and in 2015) and this year marks the first time in 25 years that WTA tennis returns to St Petersburg, Russia.
3) Bencic leads the pack in Russia…
For the first time in her career, Belinda Bencic is the No.1 seed at a WTA tournament at St. Petersburg. Her previous highest seeding was No.3 in Washington DC last year.
4) … While another 18-year-old is hoping to make big moves.
Daria Kasatkina is one to watch in St. Petersburg: She’s the second youngest player in the main draw and is coming off her joint-best result at a Grand Slam after reaching the 3rd round at the Australian Open, where she knocked out No.29 Anna Karolina Schmiedlova for the biggest win of her career.
5) Bencic and Wozniacki could face each other in the semifinals.
No.3 seed Caroline Wozniacki, who took a late wildcard into St. Petersburg, is on a semifinal collision course with Bencic, who beat her four times in 2015. See how the draw breaks down here.
6) A former World No.1 headlines in Kaohsiung.
And with 48 WTA titles to her name, No.1-seeded Venus Williams has more titles than the entire Taiwan main draw put together!
7) The Taiwan Open in Kaohsiung is the first WTA event in Taiwan.
Taiwan’s first taste of WTA tennis came back in 2012, with Taipei hosting a WTA 125K Series event from 2012 to 2015.
8) Elizaveta Kulichkova is one to watch.
Kulichkova enters the Taiwan Open following a string of career bests: at the Australian Open she reached the 3rd round of a Grand Slam for the first time and scored her career best win over No.25 Andrea Petkovic.
9) The Taiwan Open is one out of a record nine WTA Premier and International tournaments hosted on the Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan…
The other eight are the China Open in Beijing, Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open, Guangzhou International Women’s Open, Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open, Jiangxi Women’s Tennis Open in Nanchang, Shenzhen Open, Tianjin Open and WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai.
10) Check out all the best live action this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV.
And learn how you can follow it all right here.
World Group I
Romania vs. Czech Republic (2-3)
Just as the Romanian team looked like it would pull off the biggest upset of its history, the defending Fed Cup champions came back from a 1-2 deficit to continue their historic run.
Karolina Pliskova rose to the occasion and contributed to all three points of the team’s win. She came out swinging and scored the first point against Simona Halep, who had postponed nose surgery to support Romania in the tie. Romania’s Halep and Monica Niculescu grabbed the next two points, each scoring a win over Petra Kvitova making it. Pliskova got the Czechs on even footing with a win against Niculescu, before the fight was clinched in the deciding doubles rubber.
This team???thanks to everyone in this team amazing week again and also to all fans for supporting us♥️ pic.twitter.com/C6upqVLLUe
— Karolina Pliskova (@KaPliskova) February 7, 2016
Germany vs. Switzerland (2-3)
Belinda Bencic and Martina Hingis won the deciding point in the doubles rubber to beat Germany and send Switzerland into the Fed Cup semifinal for the first time in 18 years.
Playing as visitors in Leipzig Germany, Bencic held her nerve against two German heavyweights – No.23 Andrea Petkovic and Australian Open Champion Angelique Kerber – to win her two singles matches, putting Switzerland ahead 2-1 after Kerber defeated Timea Bacsinszky. Germany’s Annika Beck leveled the score at 2-2 with a victory over Bacsinszky, leaving the doubles match to decide the tie.
“It feels awesome next to Belinda to play with her now and [win] the deciding point,” Hingis told FedCup.com.
“It was tough at the beginning for me to be on the side bench for the first four matches, you are cheering them on and then you’ve got to go out. It took me a little while to get used to it but I feel I had great support from her.”
Switzerland will play the Czech Republic in the next round.
No matter what,together we are stronger! #SwissTeam ?? #TeamSpirit #WeHaveEachOthersBack ❤️ #united ?-U in April ?? pic.twitter.com/STFWFYqIMI
— Timea Bacsinszky (@TimeaOfficial) February 7, 2016
France vs. Italy (4-1)
Caroline Garcia dominated all her matches in singles and doubles, booking France’s spot in the final four for the second straight year.
Kristina Mladenovic put the home side in a tough spot, dropping the opening match against Italy’s Camila Giorgi, but Garcia leveled the tie with a win over Sara Errani. Mladenovic found redemption the next day by closing out Errani to put France ahead 2-1, before Garcia won the decisive point against Giorgi and sent France into the semifinals.
“I feel very happy, and it’s been a great week,” Garcia told FedCup.com after the victory. “It’s not every day you beat Italy 4-1. We are pretty proud.”
.@CaroGarcia's TWO WINS lead France back into #FedCup Semifinals!
Sets Semifinal vs the Netherlands! pic.twitter.com/sxxQ8ZpQpf
— WTA (@WTA) February 7, 2016
Russia vs. Netherlands (1-3)
Kiki Bertens pulled off two stunning upsets in Moscow to send last year’s finalists crashing out and put the Netherlands into their first Fed Cup semifinal since 1997.
She opened the tie with a straight sets win over Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova, before her countrywoman Richel Hogenkamp emerged victorious in a four-hour marathon match against Svetlana Kuznetsova to put the Netherlands ahead 2-0. Kuznetsova came back the next day but fell short against Bertens, giving the Dutch team an unassailable 3-0 lead and the group’s first semifinal berth. Makarova and Daria Katatkina claimed Russia’s only point in the doubles rubber.
“This is unbelievable,” Bertens told FedCup.com after the tie. “I don’t think anyone expected that we could win this tie, perhaps we even didn’t. It’s an unbelievable feeling.”
Netherlands is set to play France in the semifinals.
Netherlands is FIRST through to the #FedCup Semifinals! @KikiBertens def Kuznetsova 6-1, 6-4 & knocks out Russia! pic.twitter.com/kj7n3XPOKy
— WTA (@WTA) February 7, 2016
World Group II
The victories were more one-sided in World Group II for the USA and Spain, who both advanced with shutout victories.
Venus Williams and Sloane Stephens rattled off three straight-sets singles wins for the United States to seal the tie and give their country a place in the World Group play-offs. Spain booked their spot in a similar manner, with Garbiñe Muguruza and Carla Suárez Navarro sweeping their opponents in straight sets for a 3-0 victory over Serbia.
Sam Stosur powered Australia to a close 3-2 victory over Slovakia, winning her two singles matches over Anna Karolina Schmiedlova and Jana Cepelova before teaming up with Casey Dellacqua to claim the decisive point in doubles.
Belarus came back from a 1-2 deficit to win over Canada, booking their spot in the World Group II play-offs. Aliaksandra Sasnovich contributed to all three of Belarus’ points, winning two singles matches and the doubles decider with Olga Govortsova.