Fed Cup 2015 - Europe/Africa Zone Group I

PaulM · Tennis legend

RE: Fed Cup 2015 - Europe/Africa Zone Group I

PockyTastic · Futures level

Very interesting... Anna and Jos did really well on the red clay of Bastad last summer (perhaps the final aside), and Anna has made the trip to South America to play Bogota etc once before - playing singles qualies and doubles with Johanna Larsson, so she'll know what they are signing up for.

steven · Tennis legend

GB fall 4 places to 24 in the new Fed Cup rankings.

PaulM · Tennis legend

In an ideal world, Paraguay, Japan and Argentina would lose their play-offs meaning only one European team dropping back down into Group 1 - however I doubt the draw will work out like that!

philwrig · Hall of fame

I suppose the 1st thing to say is that we had a very strong support staff with the team this year.
Louis Cayer who hadn't attended the Fed Cup (6th time) since NS days provided great input for the doubles pairing.
Annie K made a surprise appearance, a FedCup legend with oodles of experience, but it was difficult to tell what/how much input she had from the sidelines. She performed hitting duties etc.,
Judy maybe not as vocal as when I first came to FedCup in Sweden but still a huge personality/influence from the sidelines.
Iain B always an integral part of the team.

Player ratings.

Jo played brilliantly day 1 and day 3, but poorly on day's 2 and 4. I suppose the standout observation about her game is the sudden lack of penetration she now has on her FH. Regularly she would get a short ball on that side but she was unable to capatalise on it and hit a winner, and considering when she was first on the scene that was her big offensive weapon it certainly is a big shame/concern. It meant she was involved in long drawn out rallies from the back of the court which are not really her forte. Jo's an Ok mover but she can't defend for long in rallies.

Hev was typical Hev without maybe the spark she had in Hobart. She fought for every point even in defeat against CB, where she looked flat, and of course got the massive win against Sivotilini.

Anna/Joss played brilliantly I felt. Whats that expression about the sum of the parts, seems pretty apt. Their net play was simply staggering at times ( pick ups/ angled volleys/interceptions ) I don't know how obvious that played out on the stream, but after witnessing somewhat average doubles play last year from the Brits this was a staggering improvement. They're play from the back of the court was good if not quite as impressive ( Anna holding her own in long rallies with singles players ranked in the top 100) Occasionally Anna's serve let her down when under pressure, but I think thats being picky. If they're not top 50 this time next year I'll meet my hat and everybody else's hat to boot ( assuming injury free ).

It felt that beating Ukraine was our final and it was going to be tough to comeback and perform to the same level the next day. Would have loved it to go to a deciding doubles, to see how close we could have got there.

There was some decent support for the GB team this year ( including support staff we probably had about 50 supporting the team ) That compares to maybe 30 last year.

We clearly need a fit Laura back, but I would certainly play Joss/Anna again with our top 2 singles players.

PaulM · Tennis legend

Thanks Phil. I noticed the forehand in Sydney and wondered if it was a one off. Maybe a hangover from the wrist niggle she had last year?

Yes i think a Laura (fit and well), Heather, Joss and Anna team would be very strong.

As an aside, is Anne being lined up to replace Judy at some point in the next few years perhaps? Just a random thought I had when i saw she was there. Or maybe they just didnt have a fifth player available to hit and she wanted to come anyway

philwrig · Hall of fame

PaulM wrote:
Thanks Phil. I noticed the forehand in Sydney and wondered if it was a one off. Maybe a hangover from the wrist niggle she had last year?

Yes i think a Laura (fit and well), Heather, Joss and Anna team would be very strong.

As an aside, is Anne being lined up to replace Judy at some point in the next few years perhaps? Just a random thought I had when i saw she was there. Or maybe they just didnt have a fifth player available to hit and she wanted to come anyway

From recollection I'm sure I heard Judy ask about the wrist during practice, but it wasn't taped and I know from experience that if you ask a player how an injury is, the general answer is usually it's Ok, unless they're prepared to give you an honest answer.

As for Anne, she's doing great with the commentary gig so I would be shocked if she was being lined up for the future. I did ask her what her role was for the week, but Judy jumped in sharpish and suggested that she was performing the role of fashion consultant ( obviously tongue in cheek ).

scottie1 · Futures level

Phil when they won the doubles against the Ukraine there was a blonde lady jumpin up and down beside Heather and Joko Any idea who she was not Judy This lady was in same row as Heather and Joko there is a photo at end of match and Joss and Anna are still on court

philwrig · Hall of fame

scottie1 wrote:
Phil when they won the doubles against the Ukraine there was a blonde lady jumpin up and down beside Heather and Joko Any idea who she was not Judy This lady was in same row as Heather and Joko there is a photo at end of match and Joss and Anna are still on court

I think you may be referring to a heavily pregnant Gill Myburgh, Hev's fitness trainer.

steven · Tennis legend

Good to see Cagla Buyukakcay as one of the two nominees for the FedCup heart award from this zone (the other hasn't been announced yet) despite Turkey not reaching the play-offs - well-deserved given her exploits in GB's group, I think.

philwrig · Hall of fame

I'll second that, she was unstoppable that week and I hope she gets into the top 100 this year.

ROSAMUND · Futures level

Mervatron wrote:
I think it's going to be Laura, Naomi C, Katie and Katy who will likely be pushing Johanna out of the team. We will be a strong team with Laura, Hev. Joss and Anna. Will be great to have a fair few top 150 players as back up too

This was an interesting prediction made in February 2015 in view of Johanna Konta's later performances!

Mervatron2 · Futures level

Who would have known that JoKo would get up to world number 4 win Miami and get two GS SF.

Also Naomi C gave up the ghost again. Sad days as I thought she was one of our most talented players. Laura had had bad injuries.

Ace Ventura · Tennis legend

It certainly is interesting reading back though and seeing some other predictions like Katy D inside the top 150 etc. It'll be equally interesting in 4 years to time to see where the likes of Katie B and S, Harriet and Emma are.

Who knows, we could be spearheaded by a formidable Raducanu-Garland partnership, feared by most nations, or Emma could be like where Katie S is now and not made the progress most were hoping.

I see Taiwan have some Fed Cup matches in June (their first this year), so will be interesting to see if Joanna G is involved - I'd hope she'd at least wait a year, concentrate on European (junior) events and keep her options open.

ROSAMUND · Futures level

Ace Ventura wrote:
It certainly is interesting reading back though and seeing some other predictions like Katy D inside the top 150 etc. It'll be equally interesting in 4 years to time to see where the likes of Katie B and S, Harriet and Emma are.

Who knows, we could be spearheaded by a formidable Raducanu-Garland partnership, feared by most nations, or Emma could be like where Katie S is now and not made the progress most were hoping.

I see Taiwan have some Fed Cup matches in June (their first this year), so will be interesting to see if Joanna G is involved - I'd hope she'd at least wait a year, concentrate on European (junior) events and keep her options open.

It could the partnership of Emma Raducanu and Matilda Mutavdzic. Matilda has now got a junior world ranking of 38 which one would assume would be good enough for direct entry into the junior Grand Slams.