NZ women continue Fed Cup march
New Zealand had another strong day in the Fed Cup tie against Pakistan yesterday, winning all three matches in quick time.
On New Zealand’s first day of the Asia Oceania Group II tournament in Wellington, the Marina Erakovic-captained team thrashed Mongolia, easily winning all three rubbers convincingly.
They backed up that performance with a whitewash of Pakistan to keep their lead at the top of Pool A and stay on track to make it to tomorrow’ final at the Renouf Centre.
In the first rubber, Timaru’s Emily Fanning defeated Mahin Qureshi 6-0 6-2 in just over an hour.
This was followed by Paige Hourigan’s 6-2 6-0 victory over Sarah Mayboob Kahn, then later in the day Erin Routliffe and Valentina Ivanov beat Qureshi and Ushna Suhail 6-1 6-0 in the doubles.
Although this was another day of straight set wins for New Zealand, Pakistan were a level up from Mongolia, with their players able to play more conventional tennis, hitting the ball harder and flatter and capable of serving with more pace than the Mongolians were able to.
However, Fanning said she found it less difficult against Qureshi than she did in her 6-1 6-0 win over Erdenesuren Erdenbat on Wednesday.
‘‘It was easier today than yesterday, in the fact that she hit a nicer ball for me, but also gave me time to hit my shots,’’ Fanning said.
‘‘Whereas yesterday, I really struggled with the ball coming towards me, it was a bit random and no pace.’’
Remarkably, this Fed Cup tournament is the first time the 24-year-old Fanning has played in New Zealand for eight years.
Fanning was a promising junior and first played for New Zealand in the Fed Cup in 2013.
But she then went to Florida State University for four years. After a tough time at the start, she had a good final year and decided to turn pro.
‘‘College was a great experience for me,’’ Fanning said.
‘‘Unfortunately I was injured my first two years, so I spent quite a lot of time off court.
‘‘But my last year was fantastic and hence why I wanted to keep playing.’’
Fanning bases herself in Florida and Sydney these days, rarely getting back to Timaru.
She is 605 in the world in singles and has steadily improved her ranking over the last couple of years.
‘‘I love what I do,’’ she said. ‘‘I love playing tennis. The travelling aspect isn’t easy, I’m a bit of a home body and like being back on this side of the world, so it’s awesome playing here.’’
Fanning has to travel the world without a coach, unable to afford the cost of having one.
So it’s a big change for her to have Erakovic on the side of the court for her matches at the Renouf Centre, to giver her advice at each change of ends.
‘‘She gives me two or three things that I need to focus on,’’ Fanning said of Erakovic.
‘‘I get a bit nervous from time to time and she’s very good at getting me to relax.
‘‘Before the match, to play some games and she tells some jokes. She knows how to deal with me, which is good.’’
While it’s been a good start to the tournament for New Zealand, Fanning did give a curious answer when was asked about how things were inside the camp.
‘‘We’re all professionals, I don’t think we’re best friends,’’ Fanning said.
‘‘But we get the job done at the end of the day and that’s what’s important.’’
New Zealand’s final pool match is against Singapore today, before a probable clash against Thailand in the final scheduled for tomorrow.