The TENNISREPORTERS.NET newsletter: SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 23, NO. 58

French and Amelie do the Can-Can on US, win Fed Cup
Shaughnessy folds; Fed Cup format needs review; Pierce comes alive again

By Sandra Harwitt
Special to tennisreporters.net

Fred and Susan Mullane/Camerawork USA

FROM THE FED CUP FINAL IN MOSCOW – US Fed Cup captain Billie Jean King seemed to put on a genuine brave face on Saturday after both Lisa Raymond and Meghann Shaughnessy put the US in a deep hole in the finals. King, celebrating her 60h birthday on the day, said that her players gave her a special birthday present by playing the quality matches that they did.

"I think I had great birthday present today because both of my players had great attitudes today," King said, smiling. "They left their guts on the court and gave it everything they had. You can’t ask for anything more than that as a captain. I’ve been watching these two players, both Meghann and Lisa, change and grown in their lives and that also makes it a great birthday."

Unfortunately, after putting up a tough fight against Mary Pierce on day one, Shaughnessy was not as mentally fit on Sunday in her match against Amelie Mauresmo, who has put on powerful performances all week. There was no doubt that Shaughnessy was not able to shake off her loss to Pierce. Shaughnessy went down in flames ‚ 6-2, 6-1.

The French had an insurmountable 3-0 lead and were partying. Mauresmo took a running leap into the arms of Fed Cup captain Guy Forget, the team ran the flag around the court, lined up and did a bit of the Can-Can kick and the fans sang a boisterous rendition of the "Marseillaise. "

And then Mauresmo went to her chair and cried tears of joy. She had much to celebrate in that she has a perfect 8-0 record in '03 Fed Cup action.

"It was a very emotional moment," Mauresmo said. "It is great emotion to be out there and bring the third point."

France, who won a 4-1 victory over the US, walks away with their second Fed Cup title in the 40-year history of the international team competition. Yannick Noah led the team to victory in 1997 and Mary Pierce was in attendance on that occasion as well.

As for BJK, she was not looking as happy as the day before when she saw Shaughnessy spill all her blood and guts on the court against Pierce. If Shaughnessy hopes to become a serious factor in the game, she's going to need to develop a thick skin, shake off bad matches and put forth a concerted effort during every match played.

BJK pulled Raymond for the remaining singles match, substituting Alexandra Stevenson to play Emilie Loit, who came in for Pierce.

Fed Cup format needs review
While it would be difficult to deny that the Russian cuisine, minus the free-flowing caviar, is not quite what the American palate is accustomed to, the Fed Cup Moscow experience has been a positive outing.

However, the week did call to notice that the current Fed Cup format needs serious review. The concept of playing the semifinals and finals in the same week, at the venue of one of the four remaining teams, comes with flaws. The Russian Tennis Federation put in the best bid for this week, probably for a number of reasons. One reason could be that they are hoping to court the Olympics to their shores in 2012. Another could be that when they looked at the strength of their team – Anastasia Myskina, Elena Dementieva, Nadia Petrova and Vera Zvonareva – they had good reason to believe they’d be contesting for the 2003 Fed Cup honors on the final weekend.

How it turned out is that the two strongest teams in the field, Russia and France were paired in the semifinals. Lo and behold, France ushered Russia to the door with a 3-2 victory and the Russians were left hosting an event where they were no longer involved.

It’s a good thing that the French have a group of about 70 ardent tennis fans that travel the globe to support both their Davis Cup and Fed Cup endeavors. In fact, they are so well-known that when France played Australia in the '01 Davis Cup final in Australia, France won 3-2 on grass, the French Federation of Tennis helped these fans with their expenses. So with France being way closer in proximity to Moscow than the United States, they had a small, but very vocal group of supporters.

The fact is if the French fans weren’t in attendance, there would be very few fans in the crowd and very few fans that had any particularly leaning as to who should reign victorious. This is a significant problem because when countries are contesting for a prestigious trophy such as the Fed Cup, atmosphere becomes part of the scenery. While it is true that it is the host country that usually has the crowds in their hands, at least one team has spectators on their side.

It also has to be awkward for the host nation to have to continue to host the event when their team has met with misfortune. Hence, a good reason why some of the nations didn’t put in a bid for this event, or put in a small bid that received little consideration.

Many believe that Fed Cup should go back to the days when the whole event gathered the participating nations and battled during one week of the year. At that time, the event called for teams to play two singles and one doubles match against the country determined by their draw. While it is true that the host country could be out of the game before the final, having it as more of a tournament with a lot of nations competing in the same venue brings a buzz.

Pierce comes alive again
A couple of French reporters took exception to a question posed by this reporter to Pierce, asking if she finds it at all a bit awkward that she’s playing an American team considering she’s spent virtually her whole life in the United States. Pierce did not take exception to the question and while she said she’s been in the situation before so it’s not really awkward, she also acknowledged that it is a valid point.

"It’s a great question," Pierce said. "I did grow up in the United States and English is my first language. I am part American and I was raised there. But it doesn’t feel weird playing for France against the American’s because I’ve done it before in Fed Cup."

Pierce also had a moment to state that she doesn’t hold a great passion for the game of chess, a passion for many in Russia. "I don’t like chess. I don’t play it. It involves too much thinking. It’s not for me."

Pierce showed remarkable fortitude on the opening day of the final against Meghann Shaughnessy, a match which put the French squad ahead 2-0 and the American team looking at doom on Sunday.
Shaughnessy actually was the better player in the third set of the second rubber, but it was Pierce who displayed more of a mental edge to overcome visible fatigue and get the job done. It was particularly impressive that Pierce didn’t melt away after failing to end the match on three match points on Shaughnessy’s serve in the 12th game. In the 13th game, Pierce survived one break point and then went on to score the 6-3, 3-6, 8-6 win when Shaughnessy netted a backhand at 30-40.

It was the most dramatic match of the final, which the French won and it certainly will leave Pierce feeling very confident as she goes off for the holidays.

"It was a great match and those are the kind of matches that are exciting for me," Pierce said. "I love a challenge, love the battle. That’s what matches are all about."