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| July 18, 2006 | Tuesday | Jumadi-ul-Sani 21, 1427 |
Belgium and Italy set-up Federation Cup showdown
PARIS, July 17: American tennis slumped to another low point on Sunday when their woefully under-powered team were beaten by Belgium in the Fed Cup semi-finals.
Missing the Williams sisters, as well as Lindsay Davenport, the United States lost 4-1 in Ostend against a Belgian side stripped of triple French Open champion Justine Henin-Hardenne.
Kim Clijsters, the world number two, steamrolled Vania King 6-0, 6-1 to send the 2001 winners into the final, on September 16-17, where they will face Italy, who reached the title match for the first time with a 3-1 win over Spain in Zaragoza.
The US, who won the last of their 17 Fed Cup titles in 2000, endured a demoralising weekend with their defeat coming hot on the heels of the country's worst Wimbledon showing since 1911.
Belgium went 4-0 up when Mashona Washington was forced to retire with a strained ligament in her right knee midway through the second set against Kirsten Flipkens. Washington was 6-2, 1-3 ahead at the time.
Jill Craybas and Vania King salvaged a little pride for the United States by beating Leslie Butkiewicz and Caroline Maes 6-1, 6-2 in the doubles.
Italy defeated Spain 3-1 and the two countries decided not play the ‘dead’ doubles rubber following Flavia Pennetta's 6-2, 6-4 defeat of Lourdes Dominguez.
Like her compatriot Anabel Medina Garrigues, who lost 6-3, 6-2 to Pennetta on Saturday, Dominguez was unable to return the fire of the world number 18 on clay.
Trailing 2-0 after Saturday's opening singles rubbers, Spain's comeback hopes were increased thanks to Anabel Medina Garrigues's 6-2, 6-2 victory over Francesca Schiavone, but they wilted in the intense heat with Pennetta's victory over Dominguez.
In the World Group play-offs, with the winners guaranteed a place in the elite section next season, there were wins for China, Japan, France and Russia.
China reached the World Group for the first time when they beat Germany 4-1 in Beijing.
Li Na, who became China's first Grand Slam quarter-finalist at Wimbledon this month, beat Kathrin Woerle 7-5, 7-5 to establish an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the play-off.
Tatiana Malek scored a consolation win over Sun Tiantian before Wimbledon doubles champions Zheng Jie and Yan Zi beat Kristina Barrois and Jasmin Woehr in the dead rubber.
The 22nd-ranked Li thanked home supporters after recovering from 0-3 down in the first set and saving two set points in the second against Woerle.
Aiko Nakamura was the heroine for Japan when she beat Austria's Barbara Schwartz 6-2, 7-5 to secure her team's place in the World Group.
Akiko Morigami later beat Nikola Hofmanova 6-2, 6-3, while Ai Sugiyama teamed up with Shinobu Asagoe to complete a 5-0 whitewash 6-3, 1-6, 6-0 against Schwartz and Melanie Klaffner.
Elena Dementieva beat Croatian number one Karolina Sprem 6-1, 6-3 for an unassailable 3-1 lead in Umag which kept Russia in the World Group.
France, without Wimbledon champion Amelie Mauresmo, overcame a 1-2 deficit to beat the Czech Republic 3-2 at Cagnes-sur-Mer.
Severine Bremond partnered Tatiana Golovin to a 6-4, 7-6 (7-2) victory against Iveta Benesova and Kveta Peschke in the decisive doubles.
Collated results:
World Group:
Semi-finals:
At Zaragoza:
Spain 1 lost to Italy 3 (Anabel Medina Garrigues (Spain) beat Francesca Schiavone (Italy) 6-2, 6-2; Flavia Pennetta (Italy) beat Lourdes Dominguez-Lino (Spain) 6-4, 6-2; Pennetta beat Garrigues 6-3, 6-0; Schiavone beat Dominguez-Lino 6-4, 7-5).
At Ostend:
Belgium 4 beat US 1 (Kim Clijsters (Belgium) beat Vania King (US) 6-0, 6-1; Kirsten Flipkens (Belgium) beat Mashona Washington (US) 2-6, 3-1 – retired; Jill Craybas/King (US) beat Leslie Butkiewicz/Caroline Maes (Belgium) 6-1, 6-2; Flipkens beat Craybas 5-7, 6-2, 6-4; Clijsters bt Jamea Jackson (US) 4-6, 6-2, 6-1).
World Group:
Play-offs:
At Tokyo:
Japan 5 beat Austria 0 (Aiko Nakamura beat Barbara Schwartz 6-2, 7-5; Akiko Morigami beat Nikola Hofmanova 6-2, 6-3; Shinobu Asagoe/Ai Sugiyama beat Melanie Klaffner/Barbara Schwartz 6-3, 1-6, 6-1; Morigami beat Schwartz 7-6 (7-3), 6-0; Sugiyama beat Klaffner 7-5, 6-1).
At Cagnes-sur-Mer, France:
France 3 beat Czech Republic 2 (Nicole Vaidisova (Czech Republic) beat Nathalie Dechy (France) 6-2, 6-3; Tatiana Golovin (France) beat Lucie Safarova (Czech Republic) 6-2, 6-1; Severine Bremond/Golovin (France) beat Iveta Benesova/Kveta Peschke (Czech Republic) 6-4, 7-6 (7-2); Vaidisova beat Golovin 6-1, 3-6, 11-9; Dechy beat Lucie Safarova (Czech Republic) 5-7, 6-3, 9-7.
At Beijing:
China 4 beat Germany 1 (Li Na beat Kathrin Woerle 7-5, 7-5; Tatiana Malek beat Sun TianTian 4-6, 6-3, 6-3; Yan Zi/Zheng Jie beat Kristina Barrois/Jasmin Woehr 6-3, 6-4; Li Na beat Kristina Barrois 6-3, 6-4; Zheng Jie beat Woerle 6-4, 7-5.
At Umag:
Croatia 2 lost to Russia 3 (Elena Dementieva (Russia) beat Karolina Sprem (Croatia) 6-1, 6-3; Sanja Ancic (Croatia) beat Vera Dushevina (Russia) 7-6 (7-5), 6-2; Ivana Lisjak/Matea Mezak (Croatia) beat Anna Chakvetadze/ ElenaVesnina (Russia) 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2; Anna Chakvetadze beat Lisjak 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-3); Dementieva beat Ancic 6-3, 7-5.—AFP
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