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2017 Fed Cup, World Group II 1st rubber Palace of Sports, Kharkiv Lesia Tsurenko vs Daria Gavrilova |
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World Group II action in the Fed Cup gets underway in the Ukraine with Lesia Tsurenko looking to get the hosts off to a victory in the first rubber over Australia’s top-ranked player at the tie, Daria Gavrilova. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 10pm (AEDT).
With the Australian’s leaving the out of sorts Samantha Stosur out of the tie, it hands the mantle of top ranked player to Daria Gavrilova and the pressure will be on the adopted Aussie from the start.
Given the Ukraine have named world No.13 Elina Svitolina in their team, this is almost must win in the context of the tie for the Australians.
Gavrilova will give herself a fighting chance in this match as well, but she has never had much luck against her opponent in the first rubber, Lesia Tsurenko.
The pair have faced off on three previous occasions, with Tsurenko winning all three. In saying that, Gavrilova was half the player she is now during those meetings, the last coming in 2015 so reversing history playing for the green and gold is a good chance of happening.
Gavrilova has made a strong start to the 2017 season, using her seeding to move into the fourth round of the Australian Open before exiting at the hands of Karolina Pliskova.
She then went to St Petersburg and was knocked out in the second round by Svetlana Kuznetsova. Despite that, she has been playing good tennis and her defence, the best part of her game, has been strong.
The Australian does struggle with big serving and a lot of power at times though, so on an expected faster court in Kharkiv, she will need to contain that part of Tsurenko’s game.
Tsurenko started the season at the WTA event in Hobart, making the semi-finals before coming up against Angelique Kerber in the first round of the Australian Open, predictably being knocked out in straight sets.
While Tsurenko isn’t in the top echelon of the tour, she has just about cracked the top 50 in terms of rankings and at 27 years of age has a wealth of experience to draw on.
The hard court is by far her best surface, but she will still have trouble with Gavrilova, who has a tendency to play consistently long points and get a lot of balls back into play.
Prediction
Gavrilova, despite being away from home is one of the best in the world and consitently improves. Leading the Fed Cup team will be a big deal for her and in a must-win tie, she will hold her nerve under pressure.
Gavrilova in three sets.
Be sure to join The Roar for live scores and coverage of the first rubber in this Fed Cup tie between the Ukraine and Australia from 10pm (AEDT) and don’t forget to drop a comment below.
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