Venus Williams and Sloane Stephens did their best impression of surfing on the tennis court at Holua Tennis Center on Saturday.
Venus Williams and Sloane Stephens did their best impression of surfing on the tennis court at Holua Tennis Center on Saturday.
The American duo rode tide-turning waves of momentum to victory against Poland on the first day of the Fed Cup. Williams defeated Paula Kania 7-5, 6-2, and Stephens beat Magda Linette 6-2, 6-4 to give the U.S. a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five match series.
“Each match is important,” U.S. captain Mary Joe Fernandez said. “It’s so much better to go into the second day with the lead, but you still have to finish the job.”
After some opening jitters, Stephens won her first set handily. But the world No. 25 went down 0-4 in the second set before reeling off six games in a row and giving the US an early 1-0 lead.
“I definitely had a little fart there at the beginning of the second set, but I regrouped well and I was happy that I was able to play some solid tennis towards the end,” Stephens said. “It happens, so all I can really take from that is that I tried my butt off and never gave up. That’s all that really counts.”
Williams motored out to a similar early lead, but had to fight back after falling behind 4-5 in the first set. She dominated the rest of the way.
“You know, she had some good shots; she played well; I had a few errors,” Williams said. “I think at 5-4 I was actually very relaxed. I think her strength is playing from behind. I think when she was in front it wasn’t as comfortable for her.”
Kania displayed emotion midway through the second set and seemed to be building momentum. However, Williams stood strong — and like she has so many times before — had an answer for every shot.
“She is a great player. She’s a legend. I have respect for her. It’s never easy when you’re not playing your best tennis to win against these kind of players,” Kania said. “It’s a big lesson for me for the next time. I will try to stick to the plan a little better. I hope it will work.”
Fernandez — who was a member of the 1996 champion U.S. Fed Cup team — was happy with how her duo fought through the adversity.
“I’ve said this before: When you play Fed Cup it’s a different type of tension, a different type of expectation. You got to get in the moment. I thought the crowd was phenomenal and got behind both players when the points were important.
“I was really proud of how Sloane fought back in the second set. She played some of her best tennis the last three or four games. And how Venus stayed relaxed even when she was down 5-4 and continued to apply pressure and then played really well in the second set.”
The U.S. is 20-0 when leading 2-0 after the first day of play.
Additionally, the U.S. is 37-6 all-time in Fed Cup ties (a tie is the Fed Cup term for match) played at home.
Play begins at 10 a.m. today at Holua. Williams will face off against Linette. They have never met on the WTA Tour.
The second singles match on Sunday will feature Stephens and Kania, who will be first time foes as well.