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| November 20, 2003 | Thursday | Ramazan 24, 1424 |
Shaughnessy, Raymond give U.S. 2-0 lead
MOSCOW, Nov 19: Meghann Shaughnessy overcame teenager Kirsten Flipkens 6-7 7-6 9-7 to give the United States a commanding 2-0 lead over Belgium after day one of their Fed Cup semifinal on Wednesday.
Lisa Raymond had trounced Els Callens 6-2 6-1 in the opening rubber.
Flipkens, playing in her first Fed Cup match, was the more consistent player early on as she overcame a nervous start and a hip injury to take the first set.
She was just two points away from victory, serving for the match at 5-4 in the deciding set. But Shaughnessy battled back to break her 17-year-old opponent in the 16th game to clinch the win on her first match point after three hours and 12 minutes.
Doubles specialist Raymond dominated Callens throughout their contest, clinching the win in just 50 minutes.
“I don’t think I could have asked more of myself or I could have played any better,” said the 30-year-old American.
“It’s been a great week so far and I think we came here to win this cup.”
The Americans have captured the Fed Cup a record 17 times.
Belgium are missing their top two players, world numbers one and two Justine Henin-Hardenne and Kim Clijsters, and are considered underdogs in the four-team tournament.
“It was a tough match and she played really well,” said a dejected Callens, ranked number 74 in the world.
“I just hope to give a better performance in tomorrow’s match against Shaughnessy.”
Later, Amelie Mauresmo overwhelmed Vera Zvonareva 6-2 6-2 to give France a 1-0 lead over Russia in their semifinal.
The 24-year-old Frenchwomen took charge from the start, breaking her less experienced opponent in the first game of the match.
Playing only her second Fed Cup match, the 19-year-old Zvonareva briefly rallied to level at 2-2 but Mauresmo’s consistency from the baseline paid off. The Frenchwoman won the next four games to take the first set.
The second set followed exactly the same pattern, with Mauresmo claiming the last four games from 2-2 to clinch the win in 60 minutes.
“I was very consistent from the beginning to the end,” the world number four said.
“I also didn’t let her do what she likes best... to dictate the points. I think this was one of my best matches in the entire season.”
Mauresmo said reaching the WTA Championships final earlier this month in Los Angeles, where she lost to Belgium’s Kim Clijsters, provided her with a confidence boost before the Fed Cup.
“The past few weeks in the States were very important for me, it gave me an added confidence coming into this tie,” she said.
Zvonareva said she faced an uphill battle from the start.
“She didn’t give me any chance to get into the match,” said the Russian.
“She was serving very well and also put a lot of pressure on my serves.”
Later Russian number one Anastasia Myskina beat faces Mary Pierce in the second rubber to mak it 1-1.
Semifinal results:
Russia v France:(Russian names first): Anastasia Myskina bt Mary Pierce 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 7-5; Vera Zvonareva lost to Amelie Mauresmo 2-6 2-6.
United States v Belgium (Belgian names first): Kirsten Flipkens lost to Meghann Shaughnessy 7-6 (7-4) 6-7 (8-10) 7-9; Els Callens lost to Lisa Raymond 2-6 1-6.—Reuters
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