WTA Nov 24-28 Fed Cup SFs & Final Krylatskoe Ice Stadium, Moscow, Russia indoor: carpet (Taraflex) SF live scores & stats Final live scores & stats brackets & results photos - news - Fed Cup history Yahoo! "Fed Cup" news photo search Gazeta.ru: Tennis     english from World Lingo Moscow Weather Final Nov 27-28: Russia d France 3-2 Semifinals Nov 24-25: Russia d Austria 5-0 France d Spain 5-0

Other Fed Cup pages: 2006 - 2005 - 2003 previous other tourney pages next Moscow: #27 Tatiana Golovin 5'9", 132 lbs, RH, 2H-BH Moscow: #3 Anastasia Myskina 5'8½", 130½ lbs, RH, 2H-BH

    Russia d France 3-2: On Sunday in Moscow, in the final of the Federation Cup, 16-year-old # 27 Tatiana Golovin of France (who was born in Moscow and trains at Nick Bollettieri's Academy in Florida) defeated 19-year-old US Open champ #5 Svetlana Kuznetsova of St. Petersburg, Russia, 6-4, 6-1 (photo shown).
    Tatiana said: "It was a good match and it proves I can beat the best players. It gives me a lot of confidence to work and also for next year... I was watching Kuznetsova's match very carefully yesterday when she played Nathalie so I knew how she played." story
    Svetlana hit 46 unforced errors in the 2 sets, after hitting 77 unforced errors in 3 sets while losing to Nathalie Dechy on Saturday. Svetlana said: "I couldn't make right my unforced errors and the positive things from yesterday had gone. I didn't serve well and I didn't play the right tennis tactically... I should be showing a different kind of tennis, I should be demanding the terms. I need to play more consistently indoors; outdoors it is fine but indoors I must do more... In a match like that a few points can change everything. [Tatiana] really surpassed herself and she played beyond her capabilities."

    The win was essential for France, because 23-year-old hometown girl (and French Open champ) # 3 Anastasia Myskina of Moscow, Russia had already defeated 25-year-old Guadaloupe-born-Belgium-residing # 21 Nathalie Dechy of France in the first match of the day (3rd of the "tie") 6-3, 6-4.
    Anastasia said: "My thought was that I had to stay in control of the match and not let [Nathalie] attack and come in... Maybe one reason I won is because I won our last match. She played a different game to yesterday when she beat Kuznetsova. Nathalie lead 5-4 in the third set [yesterday], maybe if it was 5-5 in the second set [today], it could have gone a different way." story
    Nathalie said: "Mentally I was not tired but I was not moving as well as I did yesterday. I didn't respond well and that was the key of the match."

    Anastasia's win had given the Russians a 2-1 lead; Tatiana's win brought the score back to even at 2-2. This left the 5th match, the doubles, to decide the 2004 Fed Cup champions. Apparently because Anastasia was playing so well, and has been playing doubles partnered with Vera Zvonareva this year, Russian captain Shamil Tarpischev substituted Anastasia for Elena Likhovtseva for the deciding match. It was a good decision, as Anastasia and Vera defeated Marion Bartoli and Emilie Loit 7-6(5), 7-5, giving Russia their first Federation Cup Championship, 3-2 (Anastasia is shown hugging Vera after championship point).
    For Anastasia it was even better than winning the French Open, because she was playing in her home town, where she also won the last 2 Kremlin Cups. Anastasia said: "Here I have all my friends around me, and I’m definitely more happy here, right now. Here it is for my team, and for my country." story
    Anastasia also said: "It was a wonderful year for [Russian] tennis and for me personally. I won a grand slam, reached a semi-final at the WTA Tour Championships and now this victory. You can hardly ask for anything else." story

    Parents, ugh: Anastasia Myskina has become the subject of extra media hype because she dislikes the courtside antics of Maria Sharapova's father Yuri. During Anastasia's WTA Championships semifinal against Maria, Anastasia said: "He was just yelling and screaming instructions to her, and I thought he just might jump right on the court at one point in the match... I feel his behavior is totally incorrect, simply rude. I don't want to be around people like him."
    Yuri was warned by the chair umpire during that match, and Maria was later assessed a code violation for being coached by her father during her victory over Serena Williams in the WTA Championships final. Former Russian Fed Cup coach Larisa Neiland said: "Every time Maria was playing a Russian girl there, her father's behaviour was simply outrageous, nasty and out of control." story 1
    On Thursday, Anastasia declared that she would not play on Russia's Fed Cup team next year if Maria Sharapova is on the team (which appears likely). Anastasia said: "If she joins our team next season, you won't see me there for sure. I do not want to be on a team with people who do not respect me."
    Despite press suggestions to the contrary, Anastasia does not appear to have any dislike of Maria herself, only her father. Russian Fed Cup captain Shamil Tarpischev said: "As far as Myskina's statement is concerned, she's in conflict with [Sharapova's] father, not with Maria... [Yuri] Sharapov has a strange, quickly-changing nervous system. It often leads to stressful situations. I must say that parents often interfere with the team's process. It gives us an extra headache but they are not the ones who decide the make-up of the team. I feel that things will calm down soon and we'll have Myskina, Sharapova, Kuznetsova and everyone else playing for Russia. In my 30 years as team captain I've seen a lot worse situations and we've managed to survive all of them." story 2
    Maria Sharapova has stated that she wants to be friendly with the Russia-residing Russian players, though she thinks her father's emotional outbursts are understandable, and she likes living in the US.
    Maria said: "I understand what [my father is] going through. If I was on the sidelines watching every match, I would be pretty emotional, too.
    "I feel a lot safer in America than I would be going back to Russia. I was raised in Russia, I feel like I am going back home, I am comfortable there because that is where I was born. But I don't think I would want to live there. Life is just so very different after being in the US for so long.
    "I always talk with the other Russian players. Even when I beat Vera (Zvonareva) in the second round in the French Open, we were talking after the match.
    "Off court we are friends, but on the court it's a totally different story because we want to beat each other. We are not going out to hate one another for some reason. We are still very young and we are going to be doing this for many years to come. So it's better to get to know each other now." story 3

    Everything favored the Russians in this year's Fed Cup. The defending champs, France, lost # 29 Mary Pierce due to a shoulder injury. # 2 Amelie Mauresmo had earlier withdrawn from the Fed Cup, saying she needs rest. This made French captain Guy Forget very unhappy (story). # 41 Marion Bartoli took Mauresmo's place, and # 45 Emilie Loit played instead of Pierce.

    Just 1 hour before the Fed Cup SF draw, # 151 Sybille Bammer of Austria withdrew due to injury, further depleting a team that had little chance against the Russkis. Barbara Schett, the former WTA # 7 who led the Austrian team to a 4-1 victory over the US in the Fed Cup quarterfinals in July, could not play for Austria due to torn right ankle ligaments she incurred earlier in November while training. Barbara had already announced plans to retire after the 2005 Australian Open; hopefully she will be healthy by then, and might even play a little longer. Former Austrian team member Barbara Schwartz also could not play due to injury.


    Fed Cup "ties" consist of 5 matches, 4 singles and 1 doubles. Typically, each country's # 1 singles player plays the other country's # 2 singles player the first day, and on the 2nd day they swap and the # 1s play each other, followed by the # 2s, followed by the doubles match. The teams are run by non-playing "captains" who are usually highly-regarded coaches and/or former players. The 3rd and 4th players on each team, at the captain's discretion, might not play at all, or might play doubles, or might substitute for an injured or struggling # 1 or # 2 player.


    In 2005, the Fed Cup will adopt a new schedule with a 3-tiered system that is like the Davis Cup system. On April 23-24, 2005 8 teams will compete in the "World Group I" quarterfinals (the 4 losers will be out of the World Group in 2006), while 8 other teams compete in "World Group II" for selection to the 2006 World Group, the 4 winners displacing the 4 2004 "World Group I" losers. Meanwhile, the remaining 72 national teams that participate in the Fed Cup will be competing in a 3rd tier, consisting of Zonal Groups I, II, & III, to qualify for "World Group II" in 2006, in hopes of reaching "World Group I" in 2007. The "World Group I" semifinals will be held the weekend following Wimbledon, July 9-10, and the 2005 Fed Cup final will be held the weekend following the US Open, September 17-18.

    The time in Moscow is UCT (GMT, Zulu, Greenwich...) + 3 hours. That is US Eastern Daylight Time +8 hours, =PDT +11 hours.

NOTEABLE WTA RESULTS: #=rank, d=doubles rank, *=upset Fed Cup Final: Russia d France 3-2: Krylatskoe Ice Stadium, Moscow, Russia indoor: carpet (Taraflex) Saturday, Nov 27, 2004 1000 GMT: 1 *#21 Nathalie Dechy FRA d #5 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS 3-6, 7-6(4), 8-6 Nathalie Dechy Dechy postmatch MP3 audio interview     Nathalie, who made 78% of her 1st serves good, won a total of 119 points in the match to 117 for Svetlana, who hit a whopping 77 unforced errors.     Nathalie said: "Each point I this final is going to be very tough but it is so good to start with the first point of the final, we need two more and it's going to be a battle. They are the favourites and they have the higher rankings but we felt we still had a chance to win this one so we are going to go for this one... I knew [Svetlana] was going to go for her shots, she is very powerful and I knew she would play hard. I knew what to expect so it wasn't hard for me to keep my rhythm. story     Svetlana said: "I was not thinking positively or [about] what I have to correct, but it is also tough to do during the game. I'm very upset to have lost this match, but I will be working hard in the reverse singles to cut out many of the mistakes."     Because Svetlana was very upset by the loss, Russian captain Shamil Tarpischev said: "[Svetlana] will either play a really great match tomorrow or really badly." 2 #3 Anastasia Myskina RUS d #27 Tatiana Golovin FRA 6-4, 7-6(5) Anastasia Myskina Myskina postmatch MP3 audio interview     Anastasia, who recovered from a 0-3 1st set deficit, made only 52% of her 1st serves good, but won an amazing 95% of her 2nd serve points (while Tatiana won 93% of her 2nd serve points!). Anastasia won a total of 85 points, to 81 for Tatiana.     Anastasia said: "I was a bit nervous because I hadn’t played Tatiana before, I didn’t know what her weaknesses and strong points were." story     About Svetlana's loss and her match against Tatiana on Sunday, Anastasia said: "I would just advise for Svetlana to keep fighting. It will be tough for a 16-year-old like Tatiana, I don’t think she has the character for it yet... Despite her defeat, Svetlana played great tennis and I think tomorrow everything will be fine for her." Sunday, Nov 28, 2004 1000 GMT: 3 #3 Anastasia Myskina RUS d #21 Nathalie Dechy FRA 6-3, 6-4 Anastasia Myskina Myskina postmatch MP3 audio interview 4 *#27 Tatiana Golovin FRA d #5 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS 6-4, 6-1 Tatiana Golovin Golovin postmatch MP3 audio interview 5 d16 Anastasia Myskina & d15 Vera Zvonareva RUS d d37 Marion Bartoli & d31 Emilie Loit FRA 7-6(5), 7-5 Vera Zvonareva & Anastasia Myskina Zvonareva & Myskina postmatch MP3 audio interview Anastasia Myskina was hoisted by her Russki teammates after championship point Svetlana, Vera, Anastasia, and Elena posed with the Fed Cup (and Cap'n Tarpischev in back) Anastasia Myskina and Tatiana Golovin at the final draw on Friday Russia: #3 d16 Anastasia Myskina #5 d8 Svetlana Kuznetsova #11 d15 Vera Zvonareva #24 d5 Elena Likhovtseva Captain: Shamil Tarpischev France: #21 d78 Nathalie Dechy #27 d119 Tatiana Golovin #41 d37 Marion Bartoli #45 d31 Emilie Loit Captain: Guy Forget     On Friday, the day before playing the Russkis in the final, French captain Guy Forget said: "The Russians are better, physically, technically, mentally. But I don't think we're that far behind and the only goal for us will be to go out on the court and try to play the best we can. If we do play our best tennis, from first to last, which is not easy, then maybe we have a little chance. The Russians will decide how high they can put the bar." story     After the final loss to Russia on Sunday, Forget said: "I am very proud of them, they did all they could to win. They knew they could win and it hurt them a lot when they saw the Russians lift the trophy." story     Forget also indicated that he might give up his Fed Cup post to concentrate solely on the Davis Cup in 2005. Forget said: "Next year there are conflicting Fed Cup and Davis Cup matches and it could pose a lot of problems - I like doing things properly. I must talk with the girls first and then with the [French Tennis] Federation's directors. The most important thing is to have someone who is fully available for the Fed Cup. It could be a good solution for me to step back for a while and come back later to the Fed Cup." Fed Cup Semifinals: Russia d Austria 5-0: Krylatskoe Ice Stadium, Moscow, Russia indoor: carpet (Taraflex) Wednesday, Nov 24, 2004 1400 GMT: 1 #5 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #191 Yvonne Meusburger AUT 6-1, 6-1 Svetlana Kuznetsova Kuznetsova postmatch MP3 audio interview 2 #3 Anastasia Myskina RUS d #223 Patricia Wartusch AUT 6-0, 6-0 Anastasia Myskina Myskina postmatch MP3 audio interview     Anastasia said: "I didn't expect that score against Wartusch. It was hard for Patricia, she's going to quit tennis this year and she was nervous. I tried a lot not to look at the scoreboard and stay focused on my game... Austria could not be underestimated because they had break points and game points and could have won a game or two... Svetlana and I didn't want to lose a single game." story Thursday, Nov 25, 2004 1400 GMT: 3 #3 Anastasia Myskina RUS d #191 Yvonne Meusburger AUT 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 Anastasia Myskina Myskina postmatch MP3 audio interview     Anastasia took a 3-0 lead to open the match, then lost 6 straight games to drop the 1st set. Anastasia said: "I felt like someone switched me off in the first two sets and I complained to [Russian captain Shamil] Tarpischev and he said, 'Don't worry, we'll find the guy who switched you off'... I didn't experience the way [Yvonne] played before. She played slow tennis... I was 3-0, then I was rushing because I wanted to win another set 6-0, then I was struggling and she came back. I made too many unforced errors." story     About facing France in the final, Anastasia said: "We are ready and hope to win and do our best. The team is happy and ready." 4 #5 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #358 Daniela Kix AUT 6-1, 6-1 Svetlana Kuznetsova Kuznetsova postmatch MP3 audio interview 5 d5 Elena Likhovtseva & d8 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d    d88 Patricia Wartusch & d335 Yvonne Meusburger AUT 6-2, 6-2 Elena Likhovtseva & Svetlana Kuznetsova Anastasia, Svetlana, Vera, & Elena with Capt. Tarpischev Russia: #3 d16 Anastasia Myskina #5 d8 Svetlana Kuznetsova #11 d15 Vera Zvonareva #24 d5 Elena Likhovtseva Captain: Shamil Tarpischev Capt. Tesar with Yvonne, Daniela, Patricia, & Evelyn Austria: #191 d335 Yvonne Meusburger #223 d88 Patricia Wartusch #358 d342 Daniela Kix #379 dNR Evelyn Fauth Captain: Alfred Tesar France d Spain 5-0: Krylatskoe Ice Stadium, Moscow, Russia indoor: carpet (Taraflex) Wednesday, Nov 24, 2004 0800 GMT: 1 #27 Tatiana Golovin FRA d #39 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP 6-3, 6-3 Tatiana Golovin Golovin postmatch MP3 audio interview 2 #21 Nathalie Dechy FRA d #52 Maria Sanchez Lorenzo 6-2, 6-4 Nathalie Dechy Dechy postmatch MP3 audio interview Nathalie said: "The match was good. In the match I did some good things especially. It was my first match, and it was good to open the competition this way... Sometimes for different reasons there are injuries and you don't have your [top] players. But a good team can bring out other players and we have a good team to do that." story Thursday, Nov 25, 2004 0700 GMT: 3 #21 Nathalie Dechy FRA d #39 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP 6-3, 6-1 Nathalie Dechy Dechy postmatch MP3 audio interview 4 #27 Tatiana Golovin FRA d #47 Marta Marrero ESP 6-3, 6-4 Tatiana Golovin Golovin postmatch MP3 audio interview 5 d37 Marion Bartoli & d31 Emilie Loit FRA d    d1 V Ruano Pascual & d60 Marta Marrero ESP 7-5, 6-2 Marion Bartoli & Emilie Loit Emilie, Tatiana, Marion, & Nathalie with Capt. Forget France: #21 d78 Nathalie Dechy #27 d119 Tatiana Golovin #41 d37 Marion Bartoli #45 d31 Emilie Loit Captain: Guy Forget Capt. Margets with Maria, Virginia, Anabel, & Marta Spain: #39 d79 Anabel Medina Garrigues #47 d60 Marta Marrero #52 dNR Maria Antonia Sanchez Lorenzo #64 d1 Virginia Ruano Pascual Captain: Miguel Margets

WTA Jul 10-11: Fed Cup QFs USA at Austria, Russia at Argentina France at Italy, Belgium at Spain live scores & stats -- brackets & results Fed Cup history -- news -- photos Yahoo! "Fed Cup" news photo search "Federation Cup" photo search     In the Fed Cup QFs in Buenos Aries on Sunday, 23-year-old # 4 Anastasia Myskina came through on the red dirt like a French Open champ (which she is) and defeated the very dangerous 19-year-old # 52 Gisela Dulko of Argentina 6-1, 7-5 (photo shown) Russia won their other 2 Sunday matches also, defeating Argentina 4-1. Russia thus advances to a November 25th Fed Cup semifinal against the surprisingly strong Austrian team.

Innsbruck: #89 Barbara Schett 5'9¼", 148 lbs, RH, 2H-BH Buenos Aries: #4 Anastasia Myskina 5'8½", 130½ lbs, RH, 2H-BH

NOTEABLE WTA RESULTS: #=rank, d=doubles rank, *=upset Fed Cup Quarterfinals World Group Ties: Martina Navratilova & Barbara Schett at the Innsbruck draw on Friday United States 1 at Austria 4: local website for this tie Bergisel Stadion, Innsbruck red clay outdoors Saturday, Jul 10, 2004 1100 GMT: 1 #24 Chanda Rubin USA d #324 Barbara Schwartz AUT 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 Chanda Rubin 2 *#89 Barbara Schett AUT d #30 Lisa Raymond USA 6-2, 6-4 Barbara Schett Sunday, Jul 11, 2004 1000 GMT: 3 *#89 Barbara Schett AUT d #24 Chanda Rubin USA 6-3, 6-2 Barbara Schett 4 *#324 Barbara Schwartz AUT d #30 Lisa Raymond USA 7-6(3), 4-6, 10-8 5 *d36 Barbara Schett & d79 Patricia Wartusch AUT d d6 Martina Navratilova & d11 Lisa Raymond USA 6-3, 0-6, 6-3 Barbara Schett & Patty Wartusch United States: #24 C Rubin #30 d11 L Raymond #60 J Craybas #372 d6 M Navratilova Captain: Zina Garrison Austria: #89 d36 B Schett #137 S Bammer #216 P Wartusch #324 B Schwartz Captain: Alfred Tesar Russia 4 at Argentina 1: Lawn Tennis Club, Buenos Aires red clay outdoors Saturday, Jul 10, 2004 1300 GMT: 1 *#52 Gisela Dulko ARG d #9 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 Gisela Dulko 2 #4 Anastasia Myskina RUS d #147 Natalia Gussoni 6-3, 6-0 Anastasia Myskina Sunday, Jul 11, 2004 1200 GMT: 3 #4 Anastasia Myskina RUS d #52 Gisela Dulko ARG 6-1, 7-5 4 #13 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #129 M Diaz-Oliva 6-3, 6-0 Vera Zvonareva 5 d5 Elena Likhovtseva & d3 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d d52 Gisela Dulko & d60 Patricia Tarabini 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 Russia: #4 d29 A Myskina #9 d3 S Kuznetsova #13 d18 V Zvonareva #39 d5 E Likhovtseva Captain: Shamil Tarpischev Argentina: #52 d52 G Dulko #147 Natalia Gussoni d60 P Tarabini #129 M Diaz-Oliva Captain: Ricardo Rivera #11 d1 P Suarez ARG out-- ingrown toenails France 3 at Italy 2: Circolo Tennis Rimini red clay outdoors Saturday, Jul 10, 2004 1400 GMT: 1 #3 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #19 Silivia Farina Elia ITA 6-2, 6-1 2 *#27 Mary Pierce FRA d #17 Francesca Schiavone ITA 6-3, 6-4 Mary Pierce Sunday, Jul 11, 2004 1400 GMT: 3 #3 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #17 Francesca Schiavone ITA 7-6(2), 6-2 4 #19 Silvia Farina Elia ITA d #35 Emilie Loit FRA 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 5 d21 Roberta Vinci & d82 Tathiana Garbin d d45 Mary Pierce FRA & d215 Tatiana Golovin 6-0, 7-6(5) France: #3 A Mauresmo #27 d45 M Pierce #35 d24 E Loit #40 d215 T Golovin Captain: Guy Forget Italy: #17 d28 F Schiavone #19 d32 S Farina Elia #58 d82 T Garbin #111 d21 R Vinci Captain: Corrado Barazzutti Belgium 2 at Spain 3: Club Nazaret, Jerez de la Frontera red clay outdoors Saturday, Jul 10, 2004 1530 GMT: 1 *#278 Kirsten Flipkens BEL d #54 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP 7-6(5), 1-6, 6-2 Kirsten Flipkens 2 *#104 Els Callens BEL d #55 Virginia Ruano Pascual ESP 2-6, 6-4, 11-9 This match lasted 3 hours and 35 minutes. Sunday, Jul 11, 2004 1500 GMT: 3 #54 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d #104 Els Callens BEL 6-4, 6-0 4 #48 Maria Antonia Sanchez Lorenzo ESP d #278 Kirsten Flipkens BEL 6-3, 6-4 Maria Antonia Sanchez Lorenzo 5 d2 Virginia Ruano Pascual & d109 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP d d30 E Callens & d735 K Flipkens BEL 6-3, 6-2 Virginia Ruano Pascual & Anabel Medina Garrigues Belgium: #104 d30 E Callens #278 K Flipkens #362 Van Hyfte #395 d294 C Maes Captain: Ivo Van Aken Spain: #48 M Sanchez Lorenzo #54 Medina Garrigues #55 d2 V Ruano Pascual N Llagostera-Vives Captain: Miguel Margets World Group Playoffs to qualify for the 2005 World Group Angelique Widjaja of Indonesia Australia 2 at Thailand 3 Croatia 3 at Brazil 1 Czech Republic 3 at Estonia 2 Germany 3 at Ukraine 2 Japan 3 at Bulgaria 2 Belarus 0 at Slovak Republic 4 Slovenia 1 at Indonesia 4 Switzerland 3 at Canada 1 Full World Group Playoff Match Results

WTA April 24-25: Fed Cup 1st Round (next "regular" tourneys Apr 26, Warsaw & Budapest) live scores & stats brackets and results Fed Cup history - news - photos 1st Round Results: USA d Slovenia 4-1 Austria d Slovak Republic 3-2 Russia d Australia 4-1 Argentina d Japan 4-1 Italy d Czech Republic 3-1 5th not played, rain France 5, Germany 0 Spain 3, Switzerland 2 Belgium 3, Croatia 2   QFs, July 10-11 USA at Austria Russia at Argentina France at Italy Belgium at Spain

La Manga: d2 Virginia Ruano Pascual & d18 Conchita Martinez Polten: #55 Barbara Schett 5' 9¼", 148 lbs, RH, 2H-BH

    On Sunday in the 1st Round of 2004 World Group Fed Cup play, Spain defeated Switzerland 3-2. The "tie" was decided by the concluding doubles match, when Spanish veterans Virginia Ruano Pascual and Conchita Martinez defeated d23 (ranked 23rd in WTA doubles) Myriam Casanova and d35 Emmanuelle Gagliardi of Switzerland 7-6(3), 6-2 (Virginia and Conchita are shown after match point).
    Spain thus advanced to meet Belgium in the QFs, to be played July 10-11, just after Wimbledon.

Earlier in the day, Conchita had defeated her kinda-sorta just recently arch-nemesis # 17 Patty Schnyder (on account of Patty not liking Conchita's long-standing routine of serving the 2nd serve with the same ball as the first, which led to Patty getting angry and holding the ball when they played a week ago, but there was no notable conflict this time) 6-3, 6-4, so the 1994 Wimbledon champ was instrumental in all 3 of Spain's wins.

Meanwhile, in Polten, Austria, # 55 Barbara Schett also finished a perfect weekend for her Austrian team by defeating Martina Sucha of Slovakia 7-5, 1-6, 6-2 (Barbara is shown after match point), and then, teamed with d41 Patty Wartusch, defeating d14 Janette Husarova & d103 Lubomira Kurhajcova of Slovakia 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. This gave Austria the 3-2 win over Slovakia, with Barbara playing in all 3 wins. Austria will play the United States in the QFs, July 10-11.
About playing the US in the QFs, Barbara said: "Fed Cup means a lot to me and I am proud to lead the team... I’ve beaten Venus [Williams] once but not [her sister] Serena, though as the hard court season will be starting then, I’m not sure they will come here to play on clay." story

(Apr 25) Day 2 MP3 Audio Interviews: # 13 Venus Williams USA # 29 Lisa Raymond USA # 2 Kim Clijsters BEL # 84 Els Callens BEL # 11 Vera Zvonareva RUS US Captian Zina Garrison Slovenia Captain Mima Jausovec Belgian Captian Ivo Van Aken

(Apr 24) Day 1 MP3 Audio Interviews: # 13 Venus Williams USA late # 13 Venus Williams USA early # 32 Tina Pisnik SLO # 28 Karolina Sprem CRO Belgium Captain Ivo Van Aken Croatia Captain Goran Prpic

(Apr 23) Pre-Tie MP3 Audio Interviews: # 2 Kim Clijsters BEL # 43 Jelena Kostanic CRO US Captain Zina Garrison Slovenian Captain Mima Jausovec

NOTEABLE WTA RESULTS: #=rank, d=doubles rank, *=upset Fed Cup 1st Round World Group Ties: United States 4 at Slovenia 1: SRC Marina, Portoroz red clay outdoors live TV in the US on The Tennis Channel Saturday, Apr 24, 2004 1000 GMT: 1 *#32 Tina Pisnik SLO d #29 Lisa Raymond USA 7-5, 7-5 2 #13 Venus Williams USA d #63 Katarina Srebotnik SLO 6-1, 6-2 Sunday, Apr 25, 2004 1000 GMT: 3 #13 Venus Williams USA d #32 Tina Pisnik SLO 6-3, 6-1 Venus Williams 4 #29 Lisa Raymond USA d #63 Katarina Srebotnik SLO 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 Lisa Raymond 5 d7 Martina Navratilova & d9 Lisa Raymond USA d    d50 Katarina Srebotnik & d55 Tina Krizan SLO 6-1, 1-6, 6-0 United States: #13 V Williams #29 d9 L Raymond #51 d65 L Granville d7 M Navratilova Captain: Zina Garrison Slovenia: #32 T Pisnik #63 d50 K Srebotnik #77 d71 M Matevzic d55 T Krizan Captain: Mima Jausovec Slovak Republic 2 at Austria 3: Tennis Centre, St. Pölten red clay outdoors Saturday, Apr 24, 2004 1200 GMT: 1 #55 Barbara Schett AUT d #161 Janette Husarova SVK 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 Barbara Schett appreciating her axe after match point-- it is made by Sportastic, an Austrian company 2 *#433 Barbara Schwartz AUT d #72 Ludmila Cervanova SVK 3-6, 7-6(1), 6-2 Sunday, Apr 25, 2004 1100 GMT: 3 #55 Barbara Schett AUT v #70 Martina Sucha SVK 7-5, 1-6, 6-2 4 #161 Janette Husarova SVK v #130 S Bammer AUT 6-3, 6-2 5 d36 Barbara Schett & d41 Patricia Wartusch AUT d    d14 Janette Husarova & d103 Lubomira Kurhajcova SVK 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 Slovak Republic: #65 d103 L Kurhajcova #70 M Sucha #72 d379 L Cervanova #161 d14 J Husarova Captain: Tomas Malik Austria: #55 d36 B Schett #130 d365 S Bammer #195 d41 P Wartusch #433 d195 B Schwartz Captain: Alfred Tesar Australia 1 at Russia 4: "Luzhniki" Arena, Moscow carpet indoors (Taraflex) Saturday, Apr 24, 2004 1400 GMT: 1 #5 Anastasia Myskina RUS d #103 Samantha Stosur AUS 6-4, 6-1 Anastasia Myskina 2 #14 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #40 Alicia Molik AUS 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 Sunday, Apr 25, 2004 1330 GMT: 3 *#40 Alicia Molik AUS d #5 Anastasia Myskina RUS 6-3, 6-3 4 #11 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #103 Samantha Stosur AUS 6-2, 6-3 5 d4 Svetlana Kuznetsova & d6 Elena Likhovtseva RUS d    d11 Rennae Stubbs & d25 Alicia Molik AUS 6-2, 3-6, 7-7(7) Australia: #40 d25 A Molik #46 d31 N Pratt #103 d94 S Stosur d11 R Stubbs Captain: E Goolagong Cawley Russia: #5 d56 A Myskina #11 d33 V Zvonareva #14 d4 S Kuznetsova d6 E Likhovtseva Captain: Shamil Tarpischev Japan 1 at Argentina 4: Lawn Tennis Club, Buenos Aires red clay outdoors Saturday, Apr 24, 2004 1300 GMT: 1 *#68 Gisela Dulko ARG d #10 Ai Sugiyama JPN 6-3, 6-4 Gisela Dulko 2 #15 Paola Suarez ARG d #54 Akiko Morigami JPN 6-4, 6-0 Sunday, Apr 25, 2004 1230 GMT: 3 *#15 Paola Suarez ARG d #10 Ai Sugiyama JPN 6(4)-7, 6-3, 7-6 retired-- leg cramps 4 *#68 Gisela Dulko ARG d #54 Akiko Morigami JPN 6-2, 6-2 5 d374 Diaz-Oliva & d109 Patricia Tarabini ARG d    d142 Saori Obata & d60 Shinobu Asagoe JPN 7-6(4), 6-7(4), 6-2 Japan: #10 d3 A Sugiyama #41 d142 S Obata #49 d60 S Asagoe #54 d161 A Morigami Captain: Takeshi Koura Argentina: #15 d1 P Suarez #68 d84 G Dulko #146 d374 M Diaz-Oliva d109 P Tarabini Captain: Ricardo Rivera Czech Republic 1 at Italy 3: Circolo Tennis Maglie, Lecce red clay outdoors Saturday, Apr 24, 2004 1330 GMT: 1 #22 Francesca Schiavone ITA d #71 Barbora Strycova CZE 5-7, 6-1, 6-0 2 #16 Silvia Farina Elia ITA d #74 Klara Koukalova CZE 6-3, 7-6(6) Sunday, Apr 25, 2004 1130 GMT: 3 #71 Barbora Strycova CZE d #69 Maria Elena Camerin ITA 5-7, 6-3, 5-7 rain delay-- finished on Monday: 4 #22 Francesca Schiavone ITA d #74 Klara Koukalova CZE 1-6, 6-2, 6-2 5 not played Czech Republic: #71 d228 B Strycova #74 K Koukalova #179 d52 L Prusova #193 N Vaidisova Captain: P Pichalova-Langrova Italy: #16 d42 S Farina Elia #22 d43 F Schiavone #69 d122 M-E Camerin #79 d110 M Santangelo Captain: Corrado Barazzutti Germany 0 at France 5: Coliseum, Amiens red clay indoors Saturday, Apr 24, 2004 1400 GMT: 1 #25 Nathalie Dechy FRA d #100 Anna-Lena Groenfeld GER 6(4)-7, 6-1, 6-4 2 #3 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #147 Barbara Rittner GER 6-1, 6-2 Sunday, Apr 25, 2004 1300 GMT: 3 #3 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #100 Anna-Lena Groenfeld GER 6-2, 6-3 4 #33 Emilie Loit FRA d #129 #129 Julia Schruff GER 5 Amelie Mauresmo & Nathalie Dechy FRA d    Anna-Lena Groenfeld & d313 Julia Schruff GER 6-2, 6-0 Germany: #100 A-L Groenfeld #101 d93 M Weingartner #129 d313 J Schruff #147 d147 B Rittner Captain: Klaus Eberhard France: #3 A Mauresmo #25 d78 N Dechy #33 d21 E Loit #34 d51 M Pierce Captain: Guy Forget Switzerland 2 at Spain 3: Centro Tenis La Manga red clay outdoors Saturday, Apr 24, 2004 1100 GMT: 1 #17 Patty Schnyder SUI d #80 Marta Marrero ESP 3-6, 7-6(6), 7-5 2 #18 Conchita Martinez ESP d #96 Emmanuelle Gagliardi SUI 2-6, 6-1, 6-0 Sunday, Apr 25, 2004 0930 GMT: 3 *#18 Conchita Martinez ESP d #17 Patty Schnyder SUI 6-3, 6-4 4 *#87 Myriam Casanova SUI d #80 Marta Marrero ESP 6(4)-7, 6-4, 6-0 5 d2 Virginia Ruano Pascual & d18 Conchita Martinez ESP d    d23 Myriam Casanova & d35 Emmanuelle Gagliardi SUI 7-6(3), 6-2 Switzerland: #17 d39 P Schnyder #87 d23 M Casanova #96 d35 E Gagliardi M Lautenschlager Captain: Zoltan Kuharszky Spain: #18 d18 C Martinez #36 M Sanchez Lorenzo #80 d129 M Marrero #81 d2 V Ruano Pascual Captain: Miguel Margets Croatia 2 at Belgium 3: Expodroom Bree, Bree red clay indoors Kim Clijsters & younger sister Elke at the Fed Cup draw in Bree on Friday Saturday, Apr 24, 2004 1400 GMT: 1 #2 Kim Clijsters BEL d #43 Jelena Kostanic CRO 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 Kim Clijsters serving to Jelena Kostanic-- you can see the support Kim is wearing on her injured left wrist (although she is right-handed the wrist is crucial to her 2-handed backhand) About the 1-1 score after 2 matches, Kim said: "We'll stay pretty tight tonight and try to get through this together, as a team. That's the most important thing. That's what Fed Cup is all about, win or lose." story 2 #28 Karolina Sprem CRO d #351 Kirsten Flipkens BEL 6-2, 6-0 Sunday, Apr 25, 2004 1330 GMT: 3 #2 Kim Clijsters BEL d #28 Karolina Sprem CRO 6-1, 6-3 4 #84 Els Callens BEL d #43 Jelena Kostanic CRO 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 5 Darija Jurak & d143 Iva Majoli CRO d    d22 Els Callens & d248 Elke Clijsters BEL 6-4, 6-1 Croatia: #28 d341 K Sprem #43 d40 J Kostanic Darija Jurak #208 d143 I Majoli Captain: Goran Prpic Belgium: #2 d5 K Clijsters #84 d22 E Callens #351 K Flipkens #542 d248 E Clijsters Captain: Ivo Van Aken