 Photographer: Andrzej Szkocki
Date: 05 Feb 2010 |  Photographer: Andrzej Szkocki
Date: 06 Feb 2010 |  Photographer: Andrzej Szkocki
Date: 06 Feb 2010 |  Photographer: Andrzej Szkocki
Date: 07 Feb 2010 |  Photographer: Andrzej Szkocki
Date: 07 Feb 2010 |  Photographer: Andrzej Szkocki
Date: 07 Feb 2010 |
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| 08 Feb 2010 - Bydgoszcz - POL v BEL - Adam Lincoln | |
| There is no 'B' in Belgium |
You’ve got to hand it to the Belgians. First they produce two Grand Slam-winning world No.1s who leave the game early, only to make dazzling comebacks.
Then, when neither of the aforementioned legends can make a Fed Cup date, the country sends forth two players who, in terms of record and experience, are clearly the No.3 and No.4.
And still they win…
This past weekend Yanina Wickmayer and Kirsten Flipkens conjured a victory over Poland that was a 50:50 shot at the start of the tie, and even less likely after the first day’s play.
There must be something in the country’s famous beer and chocolates – not that these impressive athletes would indulge too much.
Wickmayer and Flipkens have been the backbone of the Belgian Fed Cup squad ever since Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin went into retirement. Considering neither was even ranked in the top 70 this time last year, they’ve done a great job of keeping their flag in the competition’s World Group II.
Clijsters was originally down to play the Poles, and had she come to Bydgoszcz the Belgians would have been clear favourites. Winning without her must be doubly sweet for captain Sabine Appelmans and her tight knit squad, who now have a shot at promotion to the World Group for the first time since 2007.
“It’s unbelievable,” said a delighted Appelmans of the 3-2 result. “All the matches were so tight, so much tension. It could have gone either way. It’s partly luck, but they won because they went for it and they believed in it.”
Embarrassment of riches
It must be said that Wickmayer and Flipkens are coming off their best seasons to date. Wickmayer, in particular, has enjoyed an impressive rise to No. 15 in the world, winning three WTA Tour titles and reaching her first Grand Slam semifinal at Flushing Meadows.
However, the 20-year-old had never beaten a top 10 player and, trailing 64 30 against world No.9 Agnieszka Radwanska on Sunday, it looked like that wasn’t about to change. But somehow it wasn’t surprising that she saved three match points in the second set – and dug deep when Radwanska again served for the match in the third.
Wickmayer’s win gave Belgium a 2-1 lead, spurring Flipkens to great things against Marta Domachowska. The injury scare the Belgian suffered near the end of her match against Radwanska didn’t augur well, especially in light of Domachowska’s rousing performance against Wickmayer. But Flipkens got off to a flying start and held her nerve when things got close – even when down two set points in the second set tie-break.
So the big question facing Applemans is: what will she do if Clijsters, Henin and Wickmayer are all available for April’s World Group Play-offs?
“Wow… I don’t want to think about that right now,” Appelmans laughed. “Kim and Justine have both shown interest in playing Fed Cup but I think it will all depend on who we play, where we play, the surface we play on.
“They all know the sport, they are professionals and I think it will work out automatically. I think there’s a lot of respect and support within the team, and that’s what counts.”
Flipkens concurred: “The better we are as a team, the better for me,” she said. “I’d prefer to be No. 4 and not be playing singles in a full strength squad than be No.2 and playing. If we can have our best team, I would be the first to say let’s go for it.”
Poles perilously close
Fed Cup is famous for producing near misses, and it was the Polish team’s turn this weekend. “In this match it was like there were no rules,” observed Radwanska of her statistically haywire loss to Wickmayer, in which she made the Belgian issue 147 first serves to her own 99.
The home team was probably not helped by the sidelining of Urszula Radwanska, the world No. 75, due to injury, leaving Domachowska to step up. While the 24-year-old showed why she has been as high as No. 37 in the world, her recent lack of match practice and form was too often obvious at key moments.
“I can say this was a tie of missed chances, fallen chances… that’s why maybe it hurts,” said Polish captain Tomasz Wiktorowski.
“Agnieszka was so close, she just needed to be more aggressive on the big points. And Marta needs to build her confidence. She showed against Wickmayer that she’s got everything, she’s a talented girl. She needs to get through one or two close matches.”
In any case, it can only be a matter of time before Poland has its shot at World Group status, with Wiktorowski boasting another asset in doubles specialists Klaudia Jans and Alicja Rosolska. The duo has clinched several live doubles rubbers of late, and scored a morale-boosting point again on Sunday.
“It’s great, because they can take to the court fresh even after four rubbers have been played,” said Wiktorowski. “They are waiting just to take their chance on one point. That allows Agnieszka and Marta or Ula to focus on singles, and that can be a big advantage for us.
“Today has been painful in the locker room but this experience will help us be ready for next time.”
Related links
> Twitter
> Tie information
> Audio interviews
> Scorecards & stats
Related news
> Battle for Bydgoszcz too close to call
> Poland & Belgium battle in Bydgoszcz
> Belgians topple Poles
Related website
> Federation Royale Belge de Tennis
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