September 12, 2005
PARIS - Four of the summer's hottest players will turn their attention
from the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour to Fed Cup this coming weekend, as Russia
takes on host nation France in the 2005 Fed Cup Final. The official team
nominations were received by the ITF on Tuesday, September 6.
Leading the way for the Russians will be Anastasia Myskina and Elena
Dementieva, who have both had solid results on the Tour in the last few
months. Myskina began her impressive summer play at Wimbledon, reaching
the quarterfinals for the very first time, then notched two singles win
in Russia's 4-1 Fed Cup semifinal victory over the United States, including
a three-set defeat of newly-crowned Wimbledon champion Venus Williams.
The 24-year-old then made it all the way to the final at Stockholm and
to the semifinals at Toronto before falling in the third round of the US
Open. Dementieva began to come alive mid-summer, reaching the semis at
Los Angeles and the quarters at New Haven, but it was at the US Open
where the 23-year-old blossomed, turning her half of the draw upside
down by upsetting Lindsay Davenport in the quarterfinals en route to
a semifinal finish.
Russia captured its first Fed Cup title in 2004, led by Myskina and
Svetlana Kuznetsova. This year, the Russians have notched some impressive
wins to return to the final, defeating Italy (led by Francesca Schiavone)
4-1 in the first round, and the United States (led by Venus Williams) 4-1
in the semifinals. Myskina and Dementieva will be joined by talented
teenagers Dinara Safina and Vera Douchevina. Safina has already collected
two singles titles this year, at Paris [Indoors] and Prague, while
Douchevina reached her career-first Tour final in June at Eastbourne.
Headlining the French team will be Amelie Mauresmo and Mary Pierce, who
were major players in several summer hardcourt events. Mauresmo finished
third in the 2005 US Open Series on the strength of her semifinal finish
at Toronto and reaching the final at New Haven. At Flushing Meadows, the
26-year-old Frenchwoman reached the quarterfinals before falling to
30-year-old compatriot Pierce. Pierce finished in second place in the US
Open Series, after her scintillating title run at San Diego, her first
Tier I title in over five years. The two-time Grand Slam champion then
made it all the way to the final at Flushing Meadows before losing to Kim
Clijsters, defeating Justine Henin-Hardenne, Mauresmo and Dementieva along
the way. The two Frenchwomen have a combined 24-4 record on hardcourts
this summer, firmly placing them as two of the most in-form players on
the Tour at the moment.
France has captured the Fed Cup twice previously, and Pierce has been on
both winning teams. In 1997, she and Sandrine Testud lead the French team
to victory in the final against the Netherlands, and in 2003, she and
Mauresmo defeated the American team in the final. This year, France defeated
Austria 4-1 in the first round, and Spain 3-1 in the quarterfinals. Mauresmo
and Pierce will be joined in the final by fellow Top 15 player Nathalie Dechy
and rising star Tatiana Golovin. Dechy's career breakthrough came earlier
this year at the Australian Open, where she ousted Myskina and Patty Schnyder
en route to her career-first Grand Slam semifinal, where she fell in three
tough sets to Lindsay Davenport. Although struggling this summer, Golovin
has put together some excellent results in 2005, reaching semifinals on all
four surfaces, on hardcourts at Gold Coast, on carpet at Paris [Indoors],
on clay at the Tier I event in Charleston and on grass at Birmingham.
Russia and France have faced each other seven times in Fed Cup play, with
Russia holding a 4-3 edge. Five of those encounters have come in the last
six years, most recently last year, where Russia defeated a depleted French
team 3-2 in front of their home crowd at the Ice Stadium Krylatskoe in
Moscow. This year for the first time, France will face Russia on home
turf, and on the red clay of Court Philippe Chatrier, Roland Garros
nonetheless.
Nominations can change between now and when the draw is finalized. Teams
are granted up to two changes with their nominations up to one hour before
the draw is made.
http://www.wtatour.com/newsroom/stories/NewsArticle_7989_rx.asp
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