Raymond and Williams Fly USA Flag in Portoroz
Raymond and Williams Fly USA Flag in Portoroz
The draw is as follows:
Tina PISNIK (SLO) v Lisa RAYMOND (USA)
Katarina SREBOTNIK (SLO) v Venus WILLIAMS (USA)
Tina Pisnik (SLO) v Venus WILLIAMS (USA)
Katarina SREBOTNIK (SLO) v Lisa RAYMOND (USA)
Tina KRIZAN/Katarina SREBOTNIK (SLO) v Martina NAVRATILOVA/Lisa RAYMOND (USA)
Slovenian tennis has never known anything like it: the might of the United
States rolling into town for a first round Fed Cup tie complete with Venus
Williams as their number one singles player, nine-time Wimbledon champion
Martina Navratilova playing doubles, and if that wasn’t enough,
Billie Jean King as their coach to help Zina Garrison in her first tie as
captain.
If the Slovenians are daunted by the proposition, they are not showing it.
When the official draw was made and their number one player Tina Pisnik drawn
out first to play the opening rubber against United States number two Lisa
Raymond, Slovenian captain Mima Jausovec threw her arms into the air and said
"Yes!".
The general consensus is that Slovenia needs to win the opening rubber to
stand a chance, given the knowledge that Williams is a strong favourite to
win both of her singles matches. Pisnik against Raymond would appear to be
Slovenia’s opportunity, something which Jausovec confirmed as she explained
her reaction to the draw.
"It’s just that Tina Pisnik likes to play first - she likes the atmosphere,
she likes it when something is happening and she is very strong-minded," said
Jausovec. "Especially with there being an opening ceremony beforehand,
everyone standing there and there being lots of emotions, she’s the one that
wants to play first. Katarina (Srebotnik) prefers to have more time to prepare,
so this was what we wanted – Tina first, Katarina second. We are looking for
our chance, and Lisa Raymond is our chance.
She’s a great player but our players are very good on clay, they’re playing
at home, so that’s why we really want to get a good start."
Raymond didn’t seem shaken by the fact that Slovenia looked at her as a
possible weak link. If anything, it seemed to strengthen her resolve.
"I want to go out, I want to play [first]," she said. "Maybe some of it is
nervous energy, maybe some of it is excitement but I want to get out there,
play well and get this team off to a good start."
For Garrison, making her debut as the United States captain, the reaction of
her Slovenian counterpart appeared to come as a surprise, but she took it in
her stride.
"Tina’s going to have her hands full because Lisa isn’t going to just roll
over," said Garrison. "I’m a little more calm and reserved, so when Tina’s
name came out first and I knew that she had to play Lisa, the fact is that I
know Lisa is a true competitor and she’s going to do the best she can. I
look at it as just one more match that we have to be competitive about."
The second match of the opening day will pit Srebotnik against Williams, and
both women are looking forward to it.
"It means a lot – I will just try to do my best, fight for every point and
hopefully make Venus work really hard," said Srebotnik. "Hopefully Tina will be
able to get a win and Venus will feel more pressure. The ball is round and you
never know what will happen. Maybe we will surprise people, ourselves as well."
Venus certainly did not look to be feeling any pressure. Wearing an enormous
pair of hoop earrings that she said she had bought in Portoroz, Williams said
it was a special feeling to be part of the team.
"It means a lot," she said. "If I didn’t want to be here I wouldn’t be here
and for me it’s really important to support this whole Fed Cup event. This is
the only time out of the year that I’m not just [playing] for Venus, I’m
here for the whole team, for every player, and it’s not often I cheer for
any other player as I will this week."
The reverse singles matches will be played on Sunday, with the doubles rubber
last between Navratilova/Raymond and Srebotnik and Tina Krizan.
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