KEAUHOU — 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,” US 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.
In doubles, Coco Vandeweghe and Bethanie Mattek-Sands are scheduled to take on Alicja Rosolska and Klaudia Jans-Ignacik. Vandeweghe reached the mixed doubles final at this year’s Australian Open and is ranked No. 46 in the world in doubles. Mattek-Sands, ranked No. 6 in the world in doubles, won the 2015 Australian Open and French Open women’s doubles titles with Lucie Safarova and has won 17 career WTA doubles titles overall. Vandeweghe and Mattek-Sands have never paired up for a doubles match before.
Rosolska and Jans-Ignacik have played doubles together 16 times, the last coming in Fed Cup last year.
For those with tickets who are worried about a short show, the Fed Cup has a dead rubber policy that has been in place at all Fed Cup ties since 2013. If a tie is decided after the third singles rubber, the fourth singles will not be played (unless both nations want to), and the dead doubles rubber will be played instead. If the fourth singles decides the tie, the dead doubles rubber will still be played. All dead doubles rubbers will be two regular sets plus a match tiebreak.
What Super Bowl?
When the Super Bowl kicks off at 1:30 p.m., Fed Cup play at Holua will more than likely not be wrapped.
But with their own monumental task in front of them, seeing the Carolina Panthers take on the Denver Broncos doesn’t seem high on the list of priorities for the US Fed Cup squad.
“I didn’t even know the Super Bowl was tomorrow,” Fernandez said after shrugging her shoulders when asked if she had a rooting interest in the game.
Williams — who is a minority owner of the Miami Dolphins with her sister Serena — is hoping to catch a rerun.
“We can’t play for them and they can’t play for us, so we’ll be focused tomorrow,” Williams said. “If we finish, which we probably won’t, we can watch the game. Hopefully there will be a replay somewhere at some point.”
Stephens showed a little more interest, but mostly towards freshly-anointed NFL MVP Cam Newton.
“I’m all about Cam, so whatever happens…I’m all about Cam. That’s all I can say,” Stephens said.
The Captain club
After Saturday’s match, Williams has an 18-2 singles record in Fed Cup play and a tennis resume longer than a dictionary. But when asked if she would ever consider adding Fed Cup captain to that list, the world’s former No. 1 had an uncertain response.
“I don’t think I could. Mary Joe works really hard,” Williams said.
“She could,” Fernandez quickly interjected.
“You deal with different personalities, so you have to have a lot of the patience and energy and have to be able to inspire,” Williams said. “It’s not easy shoes to be in. Mary Joe thinks I can.”
Fernandez was quick to expand on her take.
“She is very even-keeled. I think she would make a phenomenal captain,” Fernandez said. “She’s the best role model and leader. I think when you demand that respect and people look up to you it makes sense.”
Awe-inspiring
Very early in the match between Stephens and Linette, audible, “wows,” could be heard from various parts of the stands. The jaw-dropping moments of tennis prowess continued through the afternoon.
The capacity crowd of 2,004 had a right to be stunned by the world-class talent. It’s the first time the Fed Cup has come to Hawaii, and the last time the Big Island hosted an event of its caliber was Davis Cup — the men’s equivalent to Fed Cup — at the Mauna Lani Racquet Club in the 1992. There, the U.S. team of Andre Agassi, John McEnroe and Pete Sampras swept Argentina, 5-0.
The players seemed equally impressed with the Kona crowd.
“Amazing,” Stephens said. “This is the first tie I’ve played we’ve sold out, so was it really, really nice and the fans were great. They were loud. It was awesome. I think we should have every tie here obviously.”