By Bill Beacon THE CANADIAN PRESS MONTREAL -- It has been almost too easy for Canada in their Fed Cup Americas Zone I event at Uniprix Stadium. For a second night in a row, Stephanie Dubois and Aleksandra Wozniak steamrolled their opponents in singles to clinch their best-of-three tie with Puerto Rico and reach the final of the six-country competition. Dubois, of Laval, Que., beat Monica Puig 6-2, 6-1 while Wozniak, of Blainville, Que., by far the top-ranked player in the field at No. 32 in the world, won 6-3, 6-1 over Jessica Roland Rosario. That gave Canada an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the best-of-three tie, and Dubois and Sharon Fichman of Toronto completed the sweep with a 6-0, 6-0 doubles win over Puig and Roland Rosario. In the final on Saturday afternoon, Canada will meet Paraguay, a surprise winner over Colombia. The winner advances to the playoffs for World Group II, which includes the ninth-to-16th-ranked countries in the world. If they stick in Group II, they will have a shot at advancing to World Group I next year. Paraguay drew first blood as 17-year-old Veronica Cepede Royg, the world's 16th ranked junior, upset Catalina Castano 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 on the quick hardcourt surface. Then 33-year-old Rossana de los Rios edged Mariana Duque Marino 7-6 (4), 7-5. The Canadian side scored a 3-0 romp over the Bahamas in their opening match on Thursday night. Dubois didn't lose a game against her Bahamian opponent on Thursday, but was up against a somewhat stronger foe in Puig, a 15-year-old junior who managed to hold service to 2-2 before Dubois took over with superior pace. "She's a junior, but she hits well," said Dubois, ranked 118th in the world. "I think I was even more aggressive this time and I served better and was taking balls earlier, so that's encouraging for the final." Wozniak, who lost only two games against the Bahamas, was hammering her serve and groundstrokes against the 26-year-old Roland Rosario and looked to be rounding into form after a recent hamstring injury. "I feel I played even better, tactically," she said. "I need more matches to get back my rhythm, so I thought it was a good match. I'm ready." Canada knew it had the easier of the two three-team round robin groups, but it remains to be seen if their one-sided wins won't work against them in the final against the winner of the more difficult group, whose matches were longer and more closely contested. "These matches were a bit challenging for us because we thought we would win and we've been trying not to think ahead to Saturday, so I'm just glad to have them done and we can start concentrating on the final," said Canadian team captain Rene Collins. "The positive thing is we're well rested. We had a great training camp coming into it. I just look at it that these were a couple of practice matches. I think the girls did well. I think we'll be ready." De los Rios, ranked 95th in the world, called her win over Duque Marino "lucky, because it was so tight. "In the first match, Veronica is a junior and she played really well -- that was a big win." De Los Rios said she's comfortable on hardcourts, but grants that Canada will be the favourite on its home court. The main court only seats 700, but it was full of home country supporters. "I know everyone on their team from the tour, but we'll do our best and just keep thinking about our goal," she said.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Fed Cup: Canada drubs Puerto Rico
By Bill Beacon THE CANADIAN PRESS MONTREAL -- It has been almost too easy for Canada in their Fed Cup Americas Zone I event at Uniprix Stadium. For a second night in a row, Stephanie Dubois and Aleksandra Wozniak steamrolled their opponents in singles to clinch their best-of-three tie with Puerto Rico and reach the final of the six-country competition. Dubois, of Laval, Que., beat Monica Puig 6-2, 6-1 while Wozniak, of Blainville, Que., by far the top-ranked player in the field at No. 32 in the world, won 6-3, 6-1 over Jessica Roland Rosario. That gave Canada an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the best-of-three tie, and Dubois and Sharon Fichman of Toronto completed the sweep with a 6-0, 6-0 doubles win over Puig and Roland Rosario. In the final on Saturday afternoon, Canada will meet Paraguay, a surprise winner over Colombia. The winner advances to the playoffs for World Group II, which includes the ninth-to-16th-ranked countries in the world. If they stick in Group II, they will have a shot at advancing to World Group I next year. Paraguay drew first blood as 17-year-old Veronica Cepede Royg, the world's 16th ranked junior, upset Catalina Castano 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 on the quick hardcourt surface. Then 33-year-old Rossana de los Rios edged Mariana Duque Marino 7-6 (4), 7-5. The Canadian side scored a 3-0 romp over the Bahamas in their opening match on Thursday night. Dubois didn't lose a game against her Bahamian opponent on Thursday, but was up against a somewhat stronger foe in Puig, a 15-year-old junior who managed to hold service to 2-2 before Dubois took over with superior pace. "She's a junior, but she hits well," said Dubois, ranked 118th in the world. "I think I was even more aggressive this time and I served better and was taking balls earlier, so that's encouraging for the final." Wozniak, who lost only two games against the Bahamas, was hammering her serve and groundstrokes against the 26-year-old Roland Rosario and looked to be rounding into form after a recent hamstring injury. "I feel I played even better, tactically," she said. "I need more matches to get back my rhythm, so I thought it was a good match. I'm ready." Canada knew it had the easier of the two three-team round robin groups, but it remains to be seen if their one-sided wins won't work against them in the final against the winner of the more difficult group, whose matches were longer and more closely contested. "These matches were a bit challenging for us because we thought we would win and we've been trying not to think ahead to Saturday, so I'm just glad to have them done and we can start concentrating on the final," said Canadian team captain Rene Collins. "The positive thing is we're well rested. We had a great training camp coming into it. I just look at it that these were a couple of practice matches. I think the girls did well. I think we'll be ready." De los Rios, ranked 95th in the world, called her win over Duque Marino "lucky, because it was so tight. "In the first match, Veronica is a junior and she played really well -- that was a big win." De Los Rios said she's comfortable on hardcourts, but grants that Canada will be the favourite on its home court. The main court only seats 700, but it was full of home country supporters. "I know everyone on their team from the tour, but we'll do our best and just keep thinking about our goal," she said.
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