- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Samantha Stosur sealed Australia’s place in the Fed Cup World Group for next year with a straight-sets victory over Lyudmyla Kichenok to give her country a 3-0 lead in their tie against Ukraine.
The world No.10 won the reverse singles rubber 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 after her planned opponent, Alona Bondarenko, pulled out with a foot injury on Sunday.
Australia’s victory in the World Group play-off on clay in Kharkiv ensures promotion from World Group II, putting them back in the top flight for the first time since 2004.
“We’ve wanted to get here for so long and to finally achieve that, it’s very special and we’re all really excited,” Stosur told AAP.
“We’re not thinking too much about the next match, we’re all just taking photos at the moment.
“There’s not a lot of claps when we win and not a lot of claps when we win a point actually – it’s pretty much just our group and that’s it.”
Kichenok, ranked No.289, was making her Fed Cup debut following the withdrawal of world No.25 Bondarenko and was a bit of a surprise packet for Stosur.
“I didn’t know my opponent and didn’t know anything about her game, so it was a bit tricky to begin with but it all turned out alright,” Stosur said.
Stosur, a 2009 French Open semi-finalist, extended her unbeaten run in Fed Cup to 13 matches, a week after winning her first clay-court title in Charleston.
Having pushed Stosur to the first-set tie-break, Kichenok saved three match points when the Australian raced to a 40-0 lead on the Ukrainian’s serve.
On Saturday, Anastasia Rodionova made an impressive debut in the competition with a gritty 0-6 6-3 7-5 win over Bondarenko, while Stosur beat Mariya Koryttseva 6-3 6-0.
Australian captain Dave Taylor said the team had surpassed his expectations when they took a 2-0 lead on the opening day after battling transport disruptions just to reach Ukraine.
“I can’t remember being up 2-0 with this format,” said Taylor who only arrived on Friday from the US following the global flight chaos caused by Iceland’s volcanic eruption.
“And to do it away after such an arduous trip to get here, they’ve probably done more than we expected … we’ve been out of the World Group for too long.”
Ukraine and Australia had only met once previously in the Fed Cup when the Ukrainians recorded a 4-1 victory in the World Group II play-offs on the Gold Coast in 2007.
Whether it’s aces or races, try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp for great odds and a great punting experience. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.