 Photographer: Siggi Bucher
Date: 10 Jul 2005 |  Photographer: Siggi Bucher
Date: 10 Jul 2005 |  Photographer: Siggi Bucher
Date: 09 Jul 2005 |  Photographer: Siggi Bucher
Date: 10 Jul 2005 |  Photographer: Siggi Bucher
Date: 10 Jul 2005 |  Photographer: Siggi Bucher
Date: 10 Jul 2005 |  Photographer: Siggi Bucher
Date: 10 Jul 2005 |  Photographer: Siggi Bucher
Date: 10 Jul 2005 |  Photographer: Siggi Bucher
Date: 10 Jul 2005 |
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| 10 Jul 2005 - TC Stade Lausanne, SUI - Marco Keller | |
| Paszek Seals Victory for Austria |
Tamira Paszek has defeated Myriam Casanova 61 63 to give Austria a winning 3-1 lead over Switzerland in its Fed Cup World Group I Play-off tie in Lausanne. With two wins, the youngest player of the tie is the big hero.
Paszek decided the tie as she had played the whole weekend - in a commanding way. She hit a service winner and then got the deserved ovations by her teammates and 50-strong Austrian supporters.
Experienced Myriam Casanova had come in as a substitute for Stefanie Vogele despite having only two matches under her belt in the last nine months. The former top 30 player gave her all but was overwhelmed in the first set. In the second set she took a 2-0 lead but hopes vanished quickly for the hard-hitting Swiss, who often got in trouble with her own serve and when she was forced to run. Meanwhile, Paszek once again showed maturity way beyond her years and fired winners from both sides. The Austrian was courageous in her service games and didn't show the slightest sign of nerves before closing it out.
After the second consecutive flawless display - she lost only 11 games in two matches -- Paszek was all smiles. "I am very happy that I could win two matches and that we will play among the top nations as well next year," she said.
Announced to be a transition year after the retirement of Barbara Schett, Austria now has reason to celebrate holding on to its place in the elite World Group for the sixth consecutive year. And the young team looks to have a promising future, mainly because of Paszek. The 14-year-old has reached two milestones in one week by getting to the junior finals in Wimbledon and now being the top player of the tie. She remains realistic, "I am still on the bottom rung of the ladder. There is so much left for me to do."
This young lady is different from plenty of other young players. She still attends school and plans to do so as long as possible and doesn't have any concrete goals. "I want to go step by step," she said.
Casanova didn't have any reproach on the match, "There wasn't much I could do. She played so well."
Earlier Timea Bacsinszky had kept Switzerland in the tie with a 63 64 win against Yvonne Meusburger.
Those who had seen Bacsinszky’s lacklustre performance on Saturday against Paszek almost couldn't believe their eyes on Sunday morning. In windy conditions, the local hero sped out to a 5-0 lead, showing a wide array of winning shots including powerful backhands and smart dropshots which often caught Meusburger off guard. The 21-year-old Austrian started a comeback but was too late, she couldn't save the third setpoint of the Swiss youngstar.
Meusburger seemed to gain some confidence early in the second set when she cruised to a 3-0 lead. Bacsinszky, inspired by the supportive crowd, came back strongly winning the last four games and sealed the match with an ace before falling to her knees.
Meusburger wasn't surprised at the improvement of the Swiss, "I had expected her to be stronger than on Saturday. But I didn't play well, my legs were very heavy."
Bacsinszky was happy about her reaction, "I had much more self-confidence today. Yesterday, it was my first match since Roland Garros and that wasn't easy, especially as Tamira had a lot of confidence after her Wimbledon run."
Related Links
> Austria takes comfortable lead in Switzerland
> Switzerland pick teens for first day
> Tie Information
> Informationen auf Deutsch - OTB
> Info en francais / Info auf Deutsch – Swiss Tennis
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