BRATISLAVA, SLOVAK REPUBLIC
Andrea Petkovic and Angelique Kerber gave Germany a 2-0 lead on the opening day of their World Group first round tie with Slovak Republic in Bratislava to put Germany on the cusp of its first top tier semifinal since 2002.
Kerber defeated Daniela Hantuchova in straight sets in the second rubber to hand the visiting side the ascendancy after world No. 36 Andrea Petkovic had stunned Australian Open finalist Dominika Cibulkova 26 76(7) 62 in just over two and a half hours in the opening rubber. With Slovak Republic on the ropes after losing the first rubber against the odds, Kerber made no mistake in delivering another crushing below. The German had lost two of her three previous meetings with Hantuchova, all of which occurred in 2010, but there was no slip up when wearing national colours today as she triumphed 76(9) 61 in an hour and 40 minutes. Earlier Petkovic, ranked 23 placed below world No. 13 Cibulkova, survived from match point down in the second set tiebreak to defeat her diminutive opponent. It was a disappointing start for the hosts, who hoped that Cibulkova could continue her good form from Melbourne despite this being her first competitive match since then. Petkovic continued her knack of thriving on the big occasion, and has now won all but one of her last eight Fed Cup singles rubbers.
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario