Fed Cup
2009, Ukraine 2-0 Argentina
Alona Bondarenko proved too good for Maria Irigoyen
in the second singles rubber in Mar del Plata, coming out
on top 63 63.
Earlier today Mariya Koryttseva got the better of Jorgelina Cravero 64 57 26 in a match that lasted exactly
three hours, as Ukraine look
to reach the World Group for the first time.
Ex-Argentine
Fed Cup players Gabriela Sabatini and Paola Suarez
More
difficult than originally thought
The absence of
Gisela Dulko and, to a lesser degree, of Betina Jozami,
was expected to have a deep effect on the chances of the
Argentinean team in this Fed Cup tie. All Ukrainian
players are higher ranked than their South American
counterparts, and that made the European team clear
favourites.
However, today showed what Fed Cup is all about. Cravero
did an outstanding job in the first and almost all of the
second set, and was just one game away from defeating
Koryttseva, who had a tough moment and found her game in
the nick of time – enough to get Ukraine the first
point.
In the first set, Cravero’s craftiness prevailed
over Koryttseva’s powerful strokes; although Cravero
was nervous, she did not show it on court, while
Koryttseva had an emotional day and spoke harsh words to
herself, feeling a little “off”.
Cravero was 54 ahead in the second set when Koryttseva
found her game and took control, winning nine of the
following 11 games and cruised to give Ukraine its first
point in the tie.
Fighting
with pride
Of all the matches
in this tie, the second was the more uneven: Alona
Bondarenko, who is top 50 in the world, playing against
Maria Irigoyen, a last-minute-replacement to the injured
Betina Jozami, who was supposed to be playing an ITF Pro
Circuit $10,000 tournament this week, and is more than
200 spots behind Bondarenko in the world rankings.
And some of that difference appeared in the first set.
Bondarenko controlled the match with powerful strokes and
high efficiency in the serve, but Irigoyen did well
considering the natural difference of playing level.
The second set showed more of the same until Bondarenko
reached 41 ahead. Then, Irigoyen overcame her lack of
experience and went all or nothing on court, determined
to at least put up a good fight. And she did, as she
broke and held serve to bring the score to 43.
Bondarenko realised this was going too far and raised her
game, enough to close the match with no further problems,
and putting Ukraine comfortably 2-0 ahead in the tie.
Tranquillity
in both sides
Both teams were
satisfied at the end of the day. Well, Argentina was
sad and unhappy about the result, but both players, as
well as captain Ricardo Rivera, had the feeling that they
had done all they could on court.
“That’s what you can be more satisfied
about,” said Rivera. “Both Jorgelina and Maria
gave their 100 per cent, they fought and did all they
could, so it’s a shame we lost, but I give a lot of
value to my players for that.”
“I feel sad,” Cravero said. “I had a
chance and I didn’t take it, and after that it
became too difficult. She won the match because she
played better.”
On the other hand, Ukraine was pleased.
“I tried to focus on my game, and winning ball after
ball,” Bondarenko said. “I did not want to pay
attention on the score, or the Argentinean fans, or the
ranking difference… I just wanted to focus on my
game and that went well as we won.”
Tomorrow, Bondarenko will face Cravero in the decisive
third rubber. A win would give Ukraine a spot in the 2010
World Group, while sending Argentina back to the World
Group II.
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