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Ana Vs. Sveta In Belgrade Opener
(February 5, 2010) A pair of Roland Garros champions will square off on the hard court of Belgrade tomorrow.
Serbia's Ana Ivanovic will try to continue her career-long mastery of Svetlana Kuznetsova and stake Serbia to an early lead when they face off in tomorrow's opening-round match of the Serbia vs. Russia Fed Cup World Group tie.
The draw for the best-of-five match tie was conducted in Belgrade today.
Ivanovic, the 2008 French Open champion, carries a 5-1 career record over reigning Roland Garros champion Kuznetsova into the first match before an expected crowd of more than 19,000 at the Belgrade Arena. Ivanovic owns a 10-1 Fed Cup singles record, including a 3-0 mark on hard court. She has struggled to tame her wayward service toss in recent months and will be facing a strong server in Kuznetsova.
Ivanovic looks fit and relaxed in this practice session video shot earlier this week.
Russia's Alisa Kleybanova meets Jelena Jankovic in Saturday's second singles match. The 31st-ranked Kleybanova could be the key player in Russia's bid to earn its ninth victory in its last 10 Fed Cup ties. The 31st-ranked Russian has won both prior meetings against Jankovic with both victories coming on hard court.
Jankovic, who has been battling a back strain and a cold, arrived in Belgrade from her Florida home on Thursday and conceded she will not be 100 percent fit for Serbia's World Group debut.
"I was very close to not coming," Jankovic said in a slightly raspy voice. "I was actually thinking I will not play. I realized even though I am not 100 percent and risking a bit my injury it's been a long way and we worked so hard to get to this position. And now we have a huge chance, with the help of our home crowd, to play against Russia, which is one of the best teams in the world. If we are able to get past them I think things will get easier for us. I am willing to give everything I have and I hope and pray we will be able to win the matches."
Even when she's healthy, Jankovic's second serve can be rather tame. If her back strain further compromises her serve, Jankovic could find herself on the defensive against the 5-for-11, 159-pound Kleybanova, who beat Ivanovic in the 2009 Australian Open, and owns the fast, flat strokes that are effective on hard courts.
Sunday's reverse singles pits the eight-ranked Jankovic against Kuznetsova, who has won five of their nine meetings. Ivanovic plays Kleybanova in the second reverse singles match.
Should the tie be deadlocked after singles play, Serbia should have an advantage with its two former World No. 1 players, Ivanovic and Jankovic, scheduled to play Vera Dushevina and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the fifth match though Russian captain Shamil Tarpischev could substitute a player in the doubles.
Ivanovic took time out from practice to visit the Zira Center in Belgrade where she met fans, signed autographs, posed for photos and conducted a Q&A with the media.
Four-time champion Russia, which won the Fed Cup in 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2008, lost to eventual-champion Italy in the 2009 semifinals, snapping a streak of eight straight wins.
The winner of the Serbia-Russia tie will play either the United States or France in the April 24-25th semifinals. Tennis Channel will telecast the USA vs. France tie live starting at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow. For the complete television schedule, please click this TV Schedule link.
For live scoring, please visit Fed Cup.com.
Photo Credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve.
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