Fed Cup
2009, Serbia 2-0 Spain
Serbia took
two large steps nearer to securing a place in the World
Group of the Fed Cup by BNP Paribas for the first time in
its history after Jelena Jankovic
and Ana Ivanovic
gave the nation a 2-0 lead over Spain in their
play-off tie in Lleida on Saturday.
World No. 4 Jankovic shrugged off a nagging cold to beat Maria Jose Martinez 63 64 and world No. 7 Ivanovic pulled off a
superb recovery to beat Anabel Medina Garrigues 36 61 62 and leave the Serbians one win
away from making the World Group.
Jankovic
draws on mental strength
When Jankovic
sneezed through the first few games of her match with
Martinez, the crowd in the intimate setting of the Club
de Tennis Lleida sensed a chance for Spain. Jankovic,
however, had other ideas and though the first set was
dominated by seven service breaks, it was the Serbian who
took it.
World No. 46 Martinez was overwhelmed by Jankovic
whenever she missed her first serve but she came out more
aggressively in the second set and charged to a 3-0 lead.
She missed a chance to make that 4-0 when she dumped a
forehand return into the net and Jankovic then made her
pay by winning six games out of seven to clinch victory.
“I cannot tell you I played good tennis, but I did
enough to win,” Jankovic said. “This morning,
when I woke up I felt, oh God I cannot move, but it’s
a special occasion, I am playing for my country and we
are in a position where for the first time in the history
of Fed Cup, we are able to get in the World Group and
next year play for the title, so this is a big
opportunity for us.
“In my head, with my mental strength, I pushed
myself and at the end especially I wanted to win that
second set because I didn’t want to play the third.”
Turnaround
victory for Ivanovic
French Open champion
Ivanovic looked totally out of sorts in the opening set
of her match with Medina Garrigues, who took full
advantage to move ahead.
Ivanovic seemed to be trying to hit winners at every
opportunity and her impatience played right into Medina’s
hands. But the match turned in the first game of the
second set when Ivanovic found her form to break serve.
Her own serve, which had been broken three times in the
first set, then clicked into gear and as her confidence
grew, she played more like the woman who won her first
Grand Slam title in Paris last summer.
Two more breaks gave her the second set and as Medina
faded, she charged to a 5-1 lead in the decider. Medina
gave herself a brief glimmer of hope when she broke back
to trail 5-2, but Ivanovic then broke yet again to clinch
victory and leave Serbia needing to win just one of
Sunday’s three rubbers to win a place in next year’s
World Group.
“It was my first match on clay since the French Open
and I had completely the wrong tactics, I was going for
my shots way too early,” Ivanovic said. “It
took me a little time to adjust to the tactics I needed
but I did that really well in the second set and the
third set and I am really happy to get another important
point for my side.”
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