US Defeats Belgium at the Fed Cup
By Jason Brown, USTA.com
Delray Beach, FL – Late substitute Vania King came off the bench and delivered, outlasting Belgium’s Kirsten Flipkens and clinching the quarterfinal for the United States. The 18-year-old King, a last-minute replacement for Serena Williams, shrugged off some nervous moments and withheld Flipken’s challenge, winning in three sets, 4-6, 6-4, 7-5. “Clinching the tie was just a dream come true,” said King.
Winning the best-of-five match series, 5-0, the U.S. will next host Russia in the 2007 Fed Cup World Group Semifinals at a site to be announced by the United States Tennis Association for the weekend of July 14-15. Russia swept Spain, 5-0, behind strong efforts from singles stars Nadia Petrova and Svetlana Kuznetsova.
A day after singing the national anthem before 3,400 fans at the Delray Beach Stadium & Tennis Center, King was thrust into another nerve-wracking situation – trying to close out a Fed Cup series in her very first try. “Obviously before the match I was really nervous,” said King. “It’s a different feeling playing for yourself and then playing for your country. I felt like it was my responsibility to do the best that I can for my country. It’s not just about me anymore.” After dropping the first set, King received words of encouragement from Captain Zina Garrison.
“Zina was always there for me, always pumping me up, telling me to stay positive and stay loose and stay relaxed,” said King. “After the first set, I think I got a little bit looser and started playing my game, doing what I needed to do.”
Charging back into the match, King broke Flipkens to take a 4-2 lead in the second set. After Flipkens quickly broke back and consolidated the lead, King dug deep and played her best tennis. Winning the final two games, a King forehand return winner set up a double fault by Flipkens on set point.
Trailing 1-2 in the third set, Flipkens was granted a medical timeout where she received treatment for tightness in her legs. The fitter of the two, King’s supreme stamina made the difference as she was able to execute after the match hit the two-hour mark. “I felt like no matter what, I’m going to be the one trying to fight harder than her,” said King.
Asked where it ranked among her teenage accomplishments, King beamed. “(It’s) up there,” she said. “I’ll remember this for a long time.” Told by team captain Zina Garrison that she would play in place of Serena Williams the morning of the match, King said that her mentality was to be prepared for anything. “At the start of the week, Zina told me, ‘Be prepared for anything, which goes for any Fed Cup. Someone can get hurt and then anyone could substitute for anyone.’ In the beginning of the week, she told me, ‘Get a little bit of a mentality that you may play singles.’“I didn’t find out actually until today, like late this morning. She kept reiterating to me, that there’s always a possibility. So I had it in the back of my head that there was a chance that I would be playing today.”
While King was understandably surprised to be playing in Serena’s place on Sunday, Flipkens seemed to know all along that King would be on the other side of the net. “To be honest, I knew that King was going to play,” said Flipkens. “I had the feeling inside. It’s weird to say, but I was just expecting King to play. It was just a feeling that they wanted to give the opportunity to King to get this experience. If it would have been 2-1, they still have Venus to go out there and try to win her match.” At two hours and 38 minutes, Sunday’s match at the Delray Beach Stadium & Tennis Center was the third-longest in U.S. Fed Cup history.
Ironically, the longest U.S. singles match also involved Belgium’s Flipkens. In the 2003 semifinals, American Meghann Shaughnessy defeated Flipkens, 6-7, 7-6, 9-7, an encounter which lasted three hours and 11 minutes.
Serena Williams, the team No. 1, was forced to withdraw from the series-clinching match because of inflammation to her right knee. The injury was said to be unrelated to the groin strain that she suffered in Charleston a week ago.
Unable to play, Serena offered words of encouragement to King. “Serena was just like, ‘Go out there and do your thing, have a good time and try your best,’” said King, who also received a pep-talk from her captain before the match.
With the tie already decided, Venus Williams defeated 17-year-old Yanina Wickmayer in 52 minutes, 6-1, 6-2. Her second point of the weekend and career twelfth singles victory in a United States uniform, the win moves Venus Williams into a tie with Mary Joe Fernandez on the all-time U.S. singles honor roll.
Ending the weekend series the way that it began, world No. 1 doubles player Lisa Raymond teamed with King to defeat Caroline Maes and 14-year-old Fed Cup rookie Tamaryn Hendler, 6-1, 6-2.
The United States improved their record when leading two matches to zero in a tie to an unblemished 15-0. The hosts are 14-1 at home since the home-away format began in 1995.
