The Roar
The Roar

Advertisement

2018 Fed Cup: Australia vs Ukraine preview

Roar Guru
9th February, 2018
Advertisement
Daria Gavrilova of Australia during the women's singles match between Daria Gavrilova of Australia and Eugenie Bouchard of Canada on day 2 of the Hopman Cup tennis tournament at Perth Arena, Perth, Saturday, December 31, 2017. (AAP Image/Tony McDonough)
Roar Guru
9th February, 2018
0

This weekend, Australia’s Fed Cup team kicks off their bid to return to the World Group when they face Ukraine on grass in Canberra.

This is the second year in a row that the two countries have met for the right to advance to the World Group play-off. There’s no doubt the Aussies will have revenge on their minds after the Ukrainians won the corresponding tie 3-1 in Kharkiv last year.

Two of their points were provided by world No.3 Elina Svitolina, who is absent this time around, as is Lesia Tsurenko, who defeated Ash Barty in the first round of the Brisbane International last month.

Instead, the visitors will be led by the Kichenok twins, Lyudmyla and Nadiia, as well as Marta Kostyuk. The latter’s singles ranking of 185 is their best in the present lineup.

Kostyuk, who turns 16 in June, became the first player born in this century to reach the third round of a Grand Slam at the Australian Open last month, where she lost to her countrywoman Svitolina in straight sets.

Meanwhile, the Aussies will once again be without Samantha Stosur. Instead, they’ll be led by Barty, Daria Gavrilova and Casey Dellacqua, while teenager Destanee Aiava is also in the side as a back-up.

Barty will face Lyudmyla Kichenok, who is ranked well outside the top 800, in the first singles rubber before Gavrilova comes up against Kostyuk, who will be making her Fed Cup debut at the tender age of 15.

Ashleigh Barty
Advertisement

Barty and Gavrilova will then swap opponents for the reverse singles on Sunday, before Barty and Dellacqua team up for the potentially decisive doubles rubber against Nadiia Kichenok and Dasha Lopatetskaya.

Given the Ukrainians are without two of their highest-ranked players in Svitolina and Tsurenko, it’s fair to say the Aussies will start favourites on the grass courts that have been set up in Canberra.

The surface should suit Barty well given she’s a former Wimbledon junior champion and reached the final in Birmingham last year where she lost to dual senior Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova.

En route to that final she also defeated future Wimbledon champ Garbine Muguruza in a three-set semi-final.

Should both Barty and Gavrilova win their respective singles ties today, the former will be playing to send Australia into the World Group play-off when she comes up against Kostyuk in the first of the reverse singles rubbers.

If this happens, the other reverse singles rubber between Gavrilova and Kichenok will not be contested, however, the doubles rubber will still go ahead with a match tiebreak (first to ten) should the two pairs split the first two sets.

The winner of this tie will, as mentioned above, go into the World Group play-off where they play any one of the eight Fed Cup World Group first round losers, while the loser will be locked out of the World Group for at least another twelve months and have to fight to stay in the second tier.

Advertisement

Both of those play-offs will take place in April, just before the start of the European clay court season.

All matches will be televised on 7mate (or 7TWO in Perth). Coverage starts from 11:00am (AEST) on both Saturday and Sunday.

close