Fed Cup
2009, Ukraine advanced to the
Fed Cup by BNP Paribas World Group
Ukraine advanced to
the Fed Cup by BNP Paribas World Group for the first time
with an emphatic 5-0 win over Argentina in the coastal
resort of Mar del Plata.
The Ukrainian team promised themselves two years ago that
they would reach the World Group. Now they have done it,
and their No. 1 player Alona Bondarenko says their dream
is to win it. But do they have what it takes to do so?
The Bondarenko sisters, who won the Australian Open
doubles title back in 2008, lead a nicely balanced group
of players. Alona Bondarenko is a regular Top 50 player,
having even reached No. 19 in the world, while her sister
Kateryna and Maria Koryttseva are regular Top 100
players, and Olga Savchuk is barely outside the Top 100
in the world.
Alona is a solid player who may possibly win many of her
matches, but the rest of the team did not show the same
strength. Koryttseva saved her match against Cravero in
the nick of time, and Savchuk did not play against
qualified opponents. Perhaps Kateryna Bondarenko may be
the piece her sister Alona needs to complete the threat
they may pose at the teams at World Group level.
Argentina, on the other hand, displayed a very different
roster. The usual No. 1, Gisela Dulko, announced early on
she would be unavailable for this tie – and she’s
the only Top 100 player in the Argentinean team. Of the
other two Top 200 players in Argentina, Betina Jozami was
injured last week, leaving Jorgelina Cravero, No. 156 in
the world, as the nominal No. 1. The rest of the team
featured Maria Irigoyen, No. 399; Aranza Salut, No. 421,
and Paula Ormaechea, No. 838. And both Salut and
Ormaechea are still juniors.
All these rankings clearly show what the difference
between both opponents was: an experienced team, used to
a high level competition, and a team divided into
expecting the veterans to do whatever they could, and
giving the juniors a try to see what they are truly made
of.
The gamble almost paid off in the first match, when
Cravero should have won over Koryttseva. When that didn’t
work, everything went down for Argentina, and the outcome
would not be put in doubt, showing the very different
moments both teams are facing in the Fed Cup by BNP
Paribas.
The South Americans
have clearly understood the messages this tie sent them:
they can’t depend only on Gisela Dulko, and their
more experienced players just don’t have the power
needed to carry the challenges of being in the World
Group.
Ricardo Rivera, the captain, explained they will take
their time to pick the best of their girls between 14 and
17 years old and give them experience in order to build a
strong team for the future. “I don’t care if we
have to return to the American Zone to achieve it; if we
have to, we will”.
Argentina has always produced top players, but is still
looking for another heir to Gabriela Sabatini, Paola
Suarez and Gisela Dulko – let’s just hope it
doesn’t take too long.
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