Half a Cup of Jo
by Pete Bodo
It's April 15th, and those of you in the U.S. know what that means. It's Tax Day, or rather tax-return deadline day. It's only appropriate that this year, Tax Day falls on the day before the start of the Fed Cup World Group semifinals. I imagine that when the USTA sends off its prepared tax return, one of the biggest write-offs will be...Fed Cup.
Never has that been more poignantly true than today, when the U.S. is decidedly the underdog—by a significant margin—in its quest to remain in the World Group. To do so, the Americans will need to pull off the upset in Stuttgart, Germany. But Fed Cup isn't a juicy ITF write-off only in the U.S. This will be a particularly lackluster semifinal stage, for a variety of reasons having mainly to do with player commitment, or more accurately, lack thereof. The situation of the Italian squad is almost emblematic of the bummer quotient in play this weekend.
Italy at Russia: Over the past half-decade, the Italian women (chiefly, Francesca Schiavone and Flavia Pennetta) have created a wonderful, *Little Engine that Could-*type of tale in Fed Cup. One of only four nations that has taken part in every Fed Cup competition, and the only one—ever—to win the championship playing as a visitor in each round, Italy won the Cup three times between 2006 and 2010. It was a great achievement for a variety of reasons, not least of which is that Schiavone did most of her best work in Fed Cup long before she became a Grand Slam champion last year in Paris. Italy's success was a tribute to team spirit and inspiration, not individual genius.
That vibe seems to have dissolved, as neither No. 4 Schiavone nor No. 20 Pennetta is playing this weeekend. Schiavone decided to spend her time reparing for the clay-court season and her defense of the French Open title. Pennetta cited shoulder problems as her reason for pulling out. But you have to wonder if there isn't more behind their joint decision, as is often the case in federation-related competitions. But even if there's more to the story than meets the eye, the naked reality is that Schiavone is pushing 31, and Pennetta is hot on her heels, nearing 30. They've done their heavy lifting in Fed Cup, and probably in tournament tennis as well. The most significant element in this Fed Cup weekend probably will be that, barring a stunning upset, it will mark the end of the Italian dynasty.
But let's be optimistic here, and take the Italian players' statements at face value. It's hard to imagine a tie that could be more easily passed up than this one, which will be played in a brand-new indoor venue in still-chilly Moscow, the Sports Palace Megasport (now if that's not resplendently redundant!). And the Russians have a strong if not full-strength squad. Vera Zvonareva, No. 3, is in harness, but Maria Sharapova—now back in the Top 10—is not. Thus, captain Shamil Tarpischev's squad will rely on, if that's the right term to use in conjunction with this woman, No. 13 Svetlana Kuznetsova. Kuznetsova is a two-time Grand Slam champion who can beat, or lose to, anyone on any given day.
While "anyone" may apply to the women who will play singles for Italy, Sara Errani (No. 43) and Roberta Vinci (No. 37), it's hard to imagine the Italians pulling this one out without the services of either of their two veteran stars.
Czech Republic at Belgium: The air also went out of the other semifinal when Belgium's Kim Clijsters withdrew from the competition after rolling an ankle, ruining what promised to be a celebration of Belgian tennis in Charleroi as much as a Fed Cup tie against the Czech Republic. Not that the tie was a gimme for the Belgians. The Czechs are the only team among the four semifinalists that will be at full strength (although Lucie Safarova, their second highest-ranked player, is unavailable due to injury), and until Clijsters withdrew they looked like a good "upset special" pick.
Now, the Czechs will roll into Charleroi as the favorites and will face No. 23 Yanina Wickmayer, who's ranked five places behind the Czech Republic's Petra Kvitova. No other player on the Belgian team is ranked inside the Top 100, and one (Alison Van Uytvanck) is No. 604. The Czech Republic also features No. 42 Iveta Benesova. Even if Wickmayer punches above her weight class, it's hard to see the Belgians winning this one.
That's the World Group. It gets a little more intriguing in the World Group playoff (relegation) round, especially if you're an American.
Unites States at Germany: The U.S. has never, ever fallen out of the World Group and it has won the Fed Cup 17 times. But these are hard times. Hail, forget Venus and Serena Williams—the U.S. won't even have feisty, lead-with-the-chin Bethanie Mattek-Sands to call upon during its visit to Stuttgart.
Instead, the draw pits Christina McHale, the 18-year old playing in her first live rubber, against one of the hottest players on the tour early in 2011, No. 19 Andrea Petkovic. In the second match, No. 81 Melanie Oudin—who's ranked just one notch higher that McHale on the WTA computer—will meet Julia Goerges (No. 34). The Germans also have a dangerous utility player in Sabine Lisicki, who's coming back from injury. I assume that tonight, team captain Mary Jo Fernandez will prevail upon her team to watch the movie 300.
Although some U.S. boosters will consider this a tough draw, I like it. It's likely that the U.S. would lose the first match in any event, and if McHale played second that would only put her under so much more pressure. Also, the time spent watching the first match, and walking that fine line between supporting the squad and focusing on the upcoming job, can leave a player sluggish and emotionally dull. This way, McHale knows exactly when she will play, and she ought to be able to conserve her energy and resources. Let her go out and get on with it. Should she pull off the unlikely upset, the veteran Oudin will get a nice lift.
Serbia at Slovak Republic: Serbia sent shock waves through the game when team captain Dejan Vranes bypassed No. 8 Jelena Jankovic and named Ana Ivanovic and...Bojana Jovanovski?...to play singles on the road against the Slovak Republic. It was a crazy move, but not a crazy-like-a-fox-or-like-Richard-Williams-or-like-Shamil-Tarpischev crazy.
Jo is an up-and-coming 19-year old, and she contributed in all three points of Serbia's last tie, a 3-2 win over Canada. The Serbs were without Ivanovic and Jankovic in that one, and Jovanovski responded better to the Fed Cup challenge that her Serbian role models ever did. Why not reward Jo with this vote of confidence? It might help make her a bankable Fed Cup player, which isn't always related to ranking or record.
Should Jovanovski crumble or Vranes decide to play even more mind games, he could always send Jankovic—the highest ranked player on the Serbian squad—up against Daniela Hantuchova on Sunday. That would certainly give the Slovaks something to think about. Because Jankovic was not named to play singles on opening day, Ivanovic is the official No. 1 for the Serbs—even though she's ranked 9 places lower than Jankovic.
So there is some intrigue in this Fed Cup weekend after all. Spain and France also have a tantalizing match-up in the works. Too bad the World Group pairings aren't as interesting.