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USA defeats Belarus 5-0 in the opening round of the Fed Cup this past weekend
By Benjamin Klein
In a rare visit, the Williams sisters appeared in matches over this past weekend at the DCU Center in Worcester, MA, playing in the first round of the Fed Cup against Belarus. It was a much anticipated weekend, as it was supposed to feature the No. 1 singles player in the world from Belarus, Victoria Azarenka, who recently won the Australian Open.
Unfortunately for Azarenka and the Belarus team, she suffered a back injury during practice and had to withdraw from the opening match against teenager Christina McHale. Replacing Azarenka was Anastasiya Yakimova, the No. 65 singles player in the world. McHale dominated Yakimova in the opening set, winning six straight games. After McHale took the first four games of the second set, Yakimova battled back to win the next four, tying the score at 4-4. McHale then took the ninth and tenth games to win the match in straight sets, 6-0, and 6-4.
The second match featured Serena Williams, sporting red, white and blue Nike shoes, and Olga Govortsova, in what was thought to be an easy victory for the USA. Serena opened the first set with three straight victories before Govortsova got heated up. Govortsova won the next three games and then stuck with Serena throughout the rest of the set. Serena won the eleventh and twelfth games to defeat Govortsova in the opening set.
Serena completely outplayed Govortsova in the second set, winning six straight games to win the match 7-5, 6-0. When referencing her play in the second set compared to the first Serena said, “I relaxed a little bit and started making more shots. I thought she played excellent in the first set. She played pretty well in the second set, but I didn’t make as many errors.”
Holding a 2-0 lead over Belarus put the United States in great shape for day two. The second day of matches was again supposed to feature Azarenka but she withdrew from her singles match against Serena. Yakimova again replaced Azarenka and played much better than in her first match against McHale. After Serena took a 4-1 lead going into the sixth game, Yakimova fought back with three straight wins to tie the set 4-4.
Williams was clearly upset with her play thus far, slamming and breaking her racquet, but stepped up to win the ninth game. Yakimova answered with a 40-0 win to secure the tenth game. She then took the eleventh game and a 6-5 lead, needing just to win the next game to take the first set. After a long battle, Yakimova finally beat Serena and took the opening set, 7-5. Serena wouldn’t back down in the second set and won 6-1, tying the match at one set a piece.
She won the first two games before Yakimova took the third. From there on, Serena didn’t let up one bit and won the next four games to win the set and the match. Serena got more and more emotional throughout the third set, screaming, “C’mon!” several times after great plays. Yakimova had extreme difficulties with her serves throughout the match, double-faulting 15 times. “My serve wasn’t really working well today. I’m not going to make excuses or something for that,” she said.
The final singles match of the round was between McHale and Darya Kustova, who was replacing Govortsova. McHale, much like her first match on Saturday, dominated the opening set, easily winning 6-0. She didn’t let up in the second set either, winning it 6-1. “I’m just super excited that I got my first two Fed Cup wins. I was just taking each game, each point one at a time,” McHale said. “It was a good weekend for the whole team.”
The final match of the weekend was a doubles match featuring Venus Williams, playing in her first match since the U.S. Open, and Liezel Huber, the No. 1 doubles player in the world. Once again Azarenka withdrew from the match that left the Belarus team consisting of Yakimova and Kustova. Venus and Huber easily won the first three games before Belarus got themselves on the scoreboard. USA would take the next three games and the first set, 6-1.
The second set was no different as Venus and Huber won 6-2 to complete the sweep for the United States. “You can’t complain when you win all five matches,” US captain Mary Joe Fernandez said. “It was great. Everybody worked really hard. They meshed well together and competed really hard. I was proud of each and every one of them.”
With the 5-0 victory over Belarus, the United States will advance to the World Group Playoff in April. They will be the No. 1 seed in a draw which will result in them playing Germany, Japan, Ukraine or the Slovak Republic. The winner of the World Group Playoffs will compete for the 2013 Fed Cup title next year.
