Barty up first for Fed Cup assault
CAPTAIN Alicia Molik has declared the Australian Fed Cup team the strongest in years leading into this weekend’s tie against Ukraine in Canberra.
Australia enters its World Cup II tie as heavy favourite, with the visitors arriving in Canberra severely understrength, most notably without world No. 3 Elina Svitolina.
Teenage prodigy Marta Kostyuk, 15, is Ukraine’s highestranked available singles player, rising to 185 after reaching the third round of last month’s Australian Open.
Australia’s world No. 26 Daria Gavrilova will come up against Kostyuk in the second singles match at Canberra Tennis Centre today.
World No. 16 Ashleigh Barty will get Australia’s campaign underway against outsider, Lyudmyla Kichenok, who is ranked 883, after the draw was announced yesterday morning. Molik said the team had embraced the favourites’ tag and was pleased with the form of Barty and Gavrilova.
“It’s been a long time since our top two singles players have won WTA events only a couple of months leading into the Fed Cup,” Molik said.
“That’s a pretty strong indication that they know how to win big tournaments, Casey [Dellacqua] included, and I’m sure Destanee [Aiava] will get there very soon.”
Australia has not won a Fed Cup title since 1974, but Molik said this week that the present team should break the drought in the next two years.
As expected, Barty will back up in the doubles tomorrow, pairing with Dellacqua to form a fearsome combination for Ukraine’s pairing of Nadiia Ki- chenok and 14-year-old Dasha Lopatetskaya. In the reverse singles tomorrow, Barty will again take to the court first when she does battle with Kostyuk, with Gavrilova to follow against Lyudmyla Kichenok.
Gavrilova said she well aware of Kostyuk’s prodigious talent and would be wary of her opponent today.
“She’s [Kostyuk] playing beyond her age and is going to have a bright future,” Gavrilova said.