Week 5 - Fed Cup Qualifier - Slovakia vs GB - Bratislava (Indoor Clay)

paulisi · Tennis legend

Week 5 - Fed Cup Qualifier - Slovakia vs GB - Bratislava (Indoor Clay)

JonH comes home · Tennis legend

RE: Fed Cup Qualifier

paulisi · Tennis legend

50/50. Slovakia are in transition and it may be down to how well our no.2 plays.

the addict · Tennis legend

paulisi wrote:
50/50. Slovakia are in transition and it may be down to how well our no.2 plays.

I agree paulisi.

Live rankings of the top two are Kuzmova 52 and Schmiedlova 133, so a bit behind our top two. All on the day.

ROSAMUND · Futures level

the addict wrote:
paulisi wrote:
50/50. Slovakia are in transition and it may be down to how well our no.2 plays.
I agree paulisi.
Live rankings of the top two are Kuzmova 52 and Schmiedlova 133, so a bit behind our top two. All on the day.

Schmiedlova has been injured of late. As for us 5 years ago our top 2 players were Jo and Heather and 5 years on that is still the case. Of course we don't know how Katie Bouter will perform when she makes her return. The rest are either injured or out of form.

HarryGem · Club Coach

ROSAMUND wrote:
the addict wrote:
paulisi wrote:
50/50. Slovakia are in transition and it may be down to how well our no.2 plays.
I agree paulisi.
Live rankings of the top two are Kuzmova 52 and Schmiedlova 133, so a bit behind our top two. All on the day.
Schmiedlova has been injured of late. As for us 5 years ago our top 2 players were Jo and Heather and 5 years on that is still the case. Of course we don't know how Katie Bouter will perform when she makes her return. The rest are either injured or out of form.

Jo also has this "pain in her knee" which has kept her out since the US open and finished her season. Let's hope it is not a severe "pain in the knee". I'd say Jo has to win both her singles matches for us to have a real chance.

wolf · Tennis legend

Delving deeper into the format for next year is an eye opener. If you lose in the qualifier you are guaranteed a play off to get back into the qualifier for the next year. But if you qualify and then finish 11-12 in the finals you are straight away relegated into Group 1 for 2021.

Together with the new Davis Cup where teams were relegated from Group 1 to Group 3 when they went on ranking to arrange the groups rather than where a team were placed before, plus the ****fest that was the transition tour, clearly the ITF are incapable of using sense.

ROSAMUND · Futures level

HarryGem wrote:
ROSAMUND wrote:
the addict wrote:
paulisi wrote:
50/50. Slovakia are in transition and it may be down to how well our no.2 plays.
I agree paulisi.
Live rankings of the top two are Kuzmova 52 and Schmiedlova 133, so a bit behind our top two. All on the day.
Schmiedlova has been injured of late. As for us 5 years ago our top 2 players were Jo and Heather and 5 years on that is still the case. Of course we don't know how Katie Bouter will perform when she makes her return. The rest are either injured or out of form.
Jo also has this "pain in her knee" which has kept her out since the US open and finished her season. Let's hope it is not a severe "pain in the knee". I'd say Jo has to win both her singles matches for us to have a real chance.

Well in the past week Jo seems to have been on a walking holiday in Scotland. I hope her knee isn't like the knee with all the strapping that Yastremska has had in the Elite trophy.

Ace Ventura · Tennis legend

Dominika Cibulkova has officially announced her retirement, so she definitely won't be a part of this. It was pretty unlikely anyway since she hasn't played since RG, but a bit of a sad way for a former WTA Finals winner and slam finalist to go, having only played 11 main tour matches this year, and lost 9 of them, just 30 y/o as well.

Edit - just read the above posts and her match against Brazil was her last FC appearance anyway, so she was never in contention, so I guess it's a more general tennis post than thread related.

Edit again - and in the midst of checking her recent results, reading the posts etc. SQ has already beaten me to the retirement announcement (in the more appropriate thread), so a thoroughly wasted post biggrin

-- Edited by Ace Ventura on Tuesday 12th of November 2019 04:22:03 PM

wolf · Tennis legend

Week 5 - Fed Cup Qualifier - Slovakia vs GB - Bratislava (Indoor Clay)

ROSAMUND · Futures level

What with Jo on the one hand and Andy on the other not very good news is it? Or is it basically wear and tear on the body playing top class tennis over the years?

PaulM · Tennis legend

Not a huge surprise Jo isn't playing this year. Tough ask - Harriet and Heather will need to really step up and clay doesn't massively suit.

ROSAMUND · Futures level

Last time when Jo pulled out in 2016 that's one of the reasons why Judy Murray gave up the Fed Cup captaincy.

foobarbaz · Strong Club Player

These Fed Cup ties are pressure cooker events, and players are pulling out all the stops, for their nation, teammates, and themselves. It takes a lot out of them, and there's a recovery period. JoKo and Katie B have done the nation proud the last few ties. Players also have to think of their careers, and the need to amass points. It won't be a bad thing for GB to send a team without some of the highest ranked players. It'll be good experience for those in the team, and I'm sure the team will perform well.

seagull · Hall of fame

Boulter also in doubt and I would give it a wide berth if I was her. She needs to concentrate on getting her ranking back up (she is currently down for a ITF event in Australia that week anyway)