Fichman, Canada look to make history
QUEBEC CITY— It’s impressive that Sharon Fichman has been playing on Canada’s Federation Cup squad for nine years.
It’s downright amazing when you consider she’s only 23 years old.
She was a junior phenom at age 13, but since then, the Toronto native has been plugging away since turning pro at age 18, grinding her way into the top 100 ranked players on the women’s tour where she now sits at No. 89.
It’s been a long, gruelling road. No WTA singles titles yet, no spectacular moments in the sun such as those enjoyed in recent years by Milos Raonic and Eugenie Bouchard, no career resume like that of Daniel Nestor.
But every step of the way, she’s been there for her country.
“I love what I do and I know that I’m good at it,” said Fichman.
“I know that I have a lot more in me, as well. I don’t think I’m even close to where I can be. I have goals I have yet to achieve. It’s just the belief and confidence in myself and love for the game and love for what I do. “All those factors keep me going.” Fichman was in Bogota last week, and is off to Portugal next week. This weekend, in between all that, she’s hoping to be part of a Canadian team that can earn its way into the elite eight-team Fed Cup grouping for the first time in 20 years.
The focus, naturally, will be on Bouchard, the country’s rising female tennis star, as Canada faces Slovakia, a powerful women’s tennis country, but one that arrived in Canada without its top three ranked singles players.
That, theoretically, gives Canada an opening in the same way that Raonic and the men’s Davis Cup team capitalized on weakened opponents to make it all the way to the world semifinals last year.
One of the differences between Fed Cup and Davis Cup, however, is while the men’s tour clears the calendar for the international team competition, the women’s tour does not.
So Dominika Cibulkova, Slovakia’s top player, is competing at a tournament in Malaysia instead of travelling to Quebec City for Fed Cup. Neither Daniela Hantuchova nor Magdalena Rybarikova are here, either. But Canada’s best four—Bouchard, Fichman, Aleksandra Wozniak and Gabriella Dabrowski—have all answered the call.
“It’s definitely a choice,” said Fichman, who attended Forest Hill Collegiate Institute and holds dual Canadian and Israeli citizenship. “The only reason any of us miss Fed Cup is if we’re injured and not playing. All of us are really patriotic and we make the choice to be here. “You’re representing your country in a whole different way. That’s special for us because we play a sport that’s individual most of the time. When we get to compete for our country and compete in a different format that brings us closer together, it’s amazing. To play on our home court and have the crowd yelling and screaming for you, there aren’t too many moments that are better than that. I know that’s a huge reason why I play it.” Canada has never won the Federation Cup — Italy is the reigning world champ — but was fairly successful in the team competition in the 1960s and late 1980s. But the past two decades have seen Canada stuck in the wilderness, and Fichman and Wozniak have been the two team stalwarts in recent times until Bouchard arrived to make Canada a genuine world threat. “Hey, it’s exciting to be part of a team that can make history in Canadian tennis,” said the 5-foot-4 Fichman. “Why stop now? “There have been lots of ups and downs. That’s kind of what it is with your career. You have to earn your way, you have to slug your way, you have to take the bad beatings and the bad losses, and the injuries and not fun stuff that comes with it. We’ve been in those tough moments time after time and that’s why we’re in the position we are. We were able to persevere and learn from our mistakes.” Bouchard and Wozniak are slated to play singles this weekend on the fast indoor court at the University of Laval, as was the case earlier this year when Canada beat Serbia in Montreal. Slovakia’s top player will
“I don’t think I’m even close to where I can be. I have goals I have yet to achieve.”
SHARON FICHMAN
be Jana Cepelova, who shocked Serena Williams this month in a Charleston tournament.
Fichman, in her 25th tie, will probably play only doubles. Then again, since the Fed Cup format has the doubles played last after four singles matches, she could be a deciding factor.
“Right now, I’m Canada’s No. 2 ranked player in singles, No. 1 in doubles. I don’t see myself taking a back seat,” she said. “In Fed Cup, it’s no longer just about you. It’s about the team.
“We have a captain (Sylvain Bruneau) who makes decisions. And his decisions are based on what gives us the best chance to win. That’s the stance I take and I hope all my teammates take the same stance.”
Canada’s male tennis players — two in the top 30, that Davis Cup semi—had a breakthrough season in 2013.
Perhaps, with Bouchard already a Grand Slam semifinalist, the women are now poised to do the same.