Team Russia Battles Past a Fighting Team Asia Pacific
By Tom Reed
Thursday January 7, 2010 Last night saw Team Russia tested by a worthy opponent in Team Asia Pacific, but manage to power their way into the Gold Group Final in front of a sellout crowd at Victoria Park. Russia prevailed 3-1, led by a gutsy performance by Team Russia Captain Maria Sharapova.
In the first match of the day Team Russia’s Vera Zvonareva took on young Japanese player Ayumi Morita. Despite the straightforward scoreline of 6-2 6-2, Ayumi put in a brave performance against her top 10 ranked opponent and her determination to run down every ball gave the local crowd much to cheer about.
The second match of the day was a three set thriller lasting almost 2 and a half hours, which saw Sharapova fight back from the brink of defeat to outlast the crafty Zheng. Maria rallied back from a set and 2-4 down using her trademark power hitting to overcome the classic counter punching style of the Team Asia Pacific Captain 6-7 (5) 6-4 6-2.
The third match of the evening saw the men take centre stage in a see-saw encounter with Team Asia Pacific’s Paradorn Srichaphan defeating Former World No. 1 Russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov 6-2 1-6 10-4.
The final match saw Maria Sharapova and Yevgeny Kafelnikov take on Asia Pacific’s Ayumi Morita and Paradorn Srichaphan. In a highly entertaining match which saw a spirited Asia Pacific save several match points, it was the Russian’s power and weight of experience that made the difference, with Team Russia prevailing 6-4 7-5.
Today, number one seeds Team Europe take on Team Americas in what are sure to be some thrilling encounters.
Wednesday’s Results
Team Russia d. Team Asia Pacific 3-1
Team Russia #1 Maria Sharapova d. Team Asia Pacific #1 Zheng Jie 6-7 (5) 6-4 6-2
Team Russia #2 Vera Zvonareva d. Team Asia Pacific #2 Ayumi Morita 6-2 6-2
Team Asia Pacific- Paradorn Srichaphan d. Team Russia- Yevgeny Kafelnikov 6-2 1-6 10-4
Team Russia- Maria Sharapova & Yevgeny Kafelnikov d. Team Asia Pacific- Ayumi Morita & Paradorn Srichaphan 6-4 7-5
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