Newly-minted Aussie Anastasia Rodionova made a stunning Fed Cup debut in Ukraine when she upended Alona Bondarenko 0-6, 6-3, 7-5. The red hot Sam Stosur then wasted Mariya Koryttseva 6-3, 6-0 to give the Aussies a 2-0 lead.
“The first time playing for your country isn’t easy – it isn’t easy any time,” Stosur said of Rodionova. “To lose the first seven games in a row and turn it around is fantastic. Obviously all the pressure is on them now but we’ve got to finish it off. I’ll be doing my best against Alona tomorrow.”
In Frankfurt, Germany and France are knotted at 1-1 after French debutante Aravane Rezai bested Tatjana Malek 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 in the second match. In the opener, Germany’s Andrea Petkovic easily put down Pauline Parmentier 6-3, 6-2.
French captain Nicolas Escude said that he communicated fairly well with his newest player, Rezai. “It is always difficult when you are playing the first match for your country but she listened to what I was saying, even if it was through her towel,” said Escude, who added that he might sub for Parmentier on Sunday with either Julie Coin or Alize Cornet.
In Belgrade, Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic shook off a wrist injury and defeated Slovakia’s Magdalena Rybarikova 7-6(5), 6-3, but Slovakian veteran Daniela Hantuchova evened things up with a decisive 6-2, 6-2 win over Bojana Jovanovski. Hantuchova took out Jankovic in Charleston two weeks ago and given how inexperienced Jovanovski is, Slovakia must be confident about their chances.—M.C.