 Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 01 Oct 2009 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 01 Oct 2009 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 01 Oct 2009 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 01 Oct 2009 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 01 Oct 2009 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 01 Oct 2009 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 01 Oct 2009 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 01 Oct 2009 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 01 Oct 2009 |
|
| 01 Oct 2009 - San Luis Potosí, México - Mónica E Rojo |  Related Audio |
| Court 1 with a “Ranchera” rhythm |
 Interview with Jiri Vesely (CZE) (MP3 format)
Interview with the German team (Annika Beck, Stephanie Wagner) (MP3 format)
 
If you cannot play the audio on your computer, then you can update your media player by following one of the links above.
The third day of competition in México was another bright sunny day of tennis, attended by plenty of shiny, happy tennis lovers. The Junior Fed Cup and Junior Davis Cup by BNP Paribas Finals are taking place in San Luis Potosí 29 Sep - 4 Oct 2009.
Tie of the day
The stands in Court one at “La loma Centro Deportivo” in San Luis were packed with Mexican fans cheering for their national Junior Davis Cup team, who today took on Australia. “México, México!” they sang to celebrate every point won. This was the last day of Round Robin where it was be decided which teams qualified for the semifinals.
Mexican Marco Aurelio Nuñez has so far played mostly in tournaments around his home country and the Caribbean. In contrast, his rival in the first match of the day, Luke Saville has played mainly in Australia, Fiji and Morocco. The first set was perfectly balanced until the very last game, in which the Aussie stepped up and scored the final point. With confidence growing on the visitors' bench, he found the second set much easier, winning 76(3) 63.
With all the pressure on the Mexican team in the second set, several unforced errors saw Australian Jason Kubler throw away a 5-0 lead to allow Luis Patiño to reach the tiebreak. It was quite visible that Patiño was suffering from nerves and finally lost the battle. “Vamos Luis tú puedes!” (Come on Luis you can do it!) a man shouted from the crowd. But he could not. Kubler won the first set in the tie-break and the rest was child's play for the Aussie strolled to take the second set without losing a game, confirming the Autralians' place in the semifinals.
Germany on top
German Annika Beck defeated Hao-Chen Tang from China in three sets in the opening rubber of their tie, placing Germany on the verge of the semifinals. It was not an easy passage, as the Tang took an early lead to take the first set. However, after warming up properly, the Teutonic’s movements disconcerted her rival, and she took the following two sets, the final score reading 36 62 62. “It was a tough match. I couldn’t feel the ball in the first set so I was very nervous. But it was better to the end”, said Beck of her victory.
In the second math Anna-Lena Friedsam repeated the achievement of her compatriot, winning 62 63 over Sai-Sai Zheng and classifying Germany for the semifinals. Stephanie Wagner, the third member of the German squad, expressed the general feeling of the team “Everything is perfect today! It is nice to play for Germany. You’re more nervous because if you lose, the team loses.”
Czechs dethrone the champions
Czech Republic’s No.2 player, Jiri Vesely, beat his American opponent Marcos Giron in a very long titanic fight, winning 76(3) 67(9) 61. “It was a very hard match" observed Giron. "The first set was very important, very long. He broke me twice on the second set, I broke him back. I had three match points but I didn’t make them…It was very tough after losing the second set but in the third set I felt better and it was easier”.
USA did comeback in the second match, as Bjorn Fratangelo found the rhythm much faster than his opponent Robert Rumler and quickly wrapped up a 63 63 win.
An epic doubles match followed, with moments of truly excellent tennis as Vesely and Lukas Vrnak took on Giron and Fratangelo. The match was played at a fast pace from the beginning and saw several service breaks by both teams several times.The first two sets were split,, but in the third it was the Czech pair that found perfect synchronization as they took the match 75 36 63. They now face Australia in the semifinals.
Sweetness for the Brits
The British boys qualified for a semifinals match-up against France, after defeating Argentina in a deciding doubles match that was filled with emotion. Oliver Golding was on the winning team and expressed the sweet moment of victory: “Davis Cup is one of my favourite tournaments. Tennis is a very individual sport but I love to play with my team”. Back at home he trains on all the surfaces to be ready for any competition.
Friday will see the start of the play-off rounds, with teams who finished second and fourth in their groups back in action. The former fighting to finish in positions 5-8, while the latter will try to avoid finishing at the bottom of the pile. Semifinals and play-offs for positions 9-12 take place on Saturday.
Related Articles
> When the sun shines in México, we'll shine together
> San Luis Potosi raises the curtain
> Junior Davis Cup and Fed Cup by BNP Paribas draw
> 2009 Junior Davis Cup and Fed Cup Finals Preview
| The above documents are in Adobe Acrobat format. To view and print them you require the Acrobat Reader program installed on your computer. Click on the icon to download a free copy of the Reader. |  |
^ Back to Top
|
