Raymond Wins Tense Battle to Put USA Into Quarters
America's Lisa Raymond has won a tense battle against Slovenia's Katarina
Srebotnik 57 63 64 to secure the USA's quarterfinal berth.
Lisa Raymond put the disappointment of an opening day loss to Tina Pisnik
behind her to come from a set down and defeat Katerina Srebotnik in the
fourth rubber.
Raymond won 57 63 64 in a tantalising match played out in front of a packed
home crowd. They cheered every Srebotnik shot as she reached the brink of
victory at 4-3 with a break in the final set, but Raymond showed admirable
courage to fight back and reel off the last three games.
“Everyone said today is a new day, and it’s funny because it is,” said
Raymond. “I don’t even remember yesterday. As down as I was last night, and
as devastated as I was at losing and feeling as though I’d let everyone down,
I’m on such a high right now. Sport is funny that way.”
Earlier, Venus Williams survived a scare against Slovenian number one Tina
Pisnik to win 63 61 and give the United States a 2-1 lead. She confirmed that
she plans to be available for the quarterfinals in Austria in July.
“It was amazing,” she said. “This was my first Fed Cup tie without Serena
playing, and I would love to keep playing. I haven’t had as much chance to
play Fed Cup as I would have liked, so I definitely want to keep it moving.”
Pisnik won 10 of the first 11 points as she tried to back up her win Raymond
on day one. The Slovenian twice broke the American’s serve, and despite
losing her own serve in the fourth game, established a 3-2 lead in the
opening set.
Pisnik’s tactics were superbly thought through and excellently executed. She
tried to give Williams a different shot to play on every ball and it worked -
keeping the American from finding her rhythm from the baseline. Time after
time Williams struggled to cope with the strategy being used against her.
Pisknik would hit a high moon-ball, then a deep, low slice, and then a drop
shot. If Williams reached it, she was frequently lobbed. One exquisite Pisnik
drop shot in the fourth game even brought applause from Martina Navratilova
and Billie-Jean King who were sitting side-by-side on the United States bench.
It didn’t last though, and when Williams began to find the range on her
groundstrokes, her superior power began to tell. She reeled of 15 of the last
16 points of the set to take it 63 and put the United States in charge.
The second set went much the same way with Pisnik starting well, but Williams
eventually asserting herself to take it 61.
In the final rubber Martina Navratilova and Lisa Raymond extended the USA's
winning score-line to 4-1, claiming the doubles point with a 61 16 60 defeat
over Tina Krizan and Katarina Strebotnik.
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