24 Apr 2004 - Coliseum d'Amiens, Amiens, FRA - Catherine Luiggi - FRA v GER
Defending Champions Take Command in Amiens
Defending champions France have taken a 2-0 lead over Germany in their
Fed Cup World Group first round tie in Amiens after contrasting wins for
Nathalie Dechy and Amelie Mauresmo.
After laboriously winning the first point against Germany, Nathalie Dechy
made room for her compatriot Amelie Mauresmo. In just one hour and four
minutes, the No. 1 French player took the second point for France in this
Fed Cup World Group first round tie, defeating Barbara Rittner 61 62.
A finalist in Amelia Island two weeks ago, where she defeated Justine
Henin-Hardenne, Mauresmo arrived in Amiens with exactly the right form
required and was determined not to let this match slip through her fingers.
With the fans in the Amiens Coliseum right behind their Amelie, who is
originally from this area of France, the confident French No. 1 was the
patron of the court today. Aggressive from the start and especially strong
from the baseline, she totally overwhelmed her opponent. In just twenty
four minutes the world No. 3 took the first set 61.
Mauresmo continued to impress in the second set, breaking her opponent in
the opening game. Rittner gave her opponent a little scare in the forth
game when she had three break points, but Mauresmo fought back to hold
serve and extend her lead to 52. As she served for the match, Mauresmo
once again found herself with two break points against her, but she
managed to steady and wrap up the match with a straight sets victory.
Mission accomplished the experienced Fed Cup player, who has extended
her Fed Cup winning streak to nine rubbers, was feeling good after her
match, “I’m feeling quite good. All my back problems are behind me and
I have been able to rest and prepare for this tie since Amelia Island,"
Mauresmo says with an enormous smile.
"I think I played pretty good tennis and hopefully we can finish this
tie tomorrow with the third match. I’ll prepare for it in the same way
I did today."
In the first set Nathalie Dechy was taken to three sets by 18 year-old
Anna-Lena Groenefeld before overcoming the German 67(4) 61 64. The German,
who was making her Fed Cup debut, took the first set in a tiebreak but was
unable to capitalise on the lead, Dechy quickly drew level, losing just one
game in the second set. Groenefeld rallied from 2-4 in the third but lost her
serve at 4-4. Dechy faced a battle when serving for the match at 5-4, coming
back from 0-40 and finally clinching victory on her third match point. The
match lasted two hours and 33 minutes.
Mauresmo's confident play will give captain Guy Forget a reason to sleep a
little easier tonight and the French team should arrive at the courts
tomorrow with the confidence needed to get through the third rubber.
But Mauresmo's next encounter could prove to be more difficult as her
opponent Anna-Lena Groenefeld, will no doubt give her all and impress
as she did earlier today.
According to Guy Forget, the French captain,“Any time you play a Fed
Cup tie, anything can happen. My job is to make sure the players know that.
If Amelie starts her match tomorrow the way she did today, I think she can
win in two sets. She’s got to be aggressive. That will be the key to the
match," he said.
http://www.fedcup.com/news/matchreport.asp?id=10417
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幾間東倒西歪屋，一個南腔北調人。
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