Canada will host Belarus this weekend in the Fed Cup World Group II with an opportunity to be promoted to the World Group on the line. Both teams will be without their number one player, which adds some parity to this tie. The tie will be played on indoor hard courts in Quebec City, Canada. Here is our preview of this World Group II tie.
Team Canada
The Canadian team is young, with three of their four players being born in the 1990's. The team is led by 19-year-old Francoise Abanda, who will be contesting the singles. She is joined by the lone veteran on the team, former world number 21 Aleksandra Wozniak. Wozniak has been out of action with a shoulder injury for the better part of the last two years, and only made her return last summer on the ITF Professional Circuit. She is currently ranked 803rd in the world. Canada does not have a singles player on their team ranked inside the top 300.
The doubles is where Canada is arguably at their strongest, as their team consists of their lone top-one hundred player (in the doubles rankings), 43rd ranked Gabriela Dabrowski, who will be teaming up with 20-year-old Carol Zhao. Dabrowski has won a pair of doubles titles on the WTA tour. Canada is without their number one ranked singles player, Eugenie Bouchard. Bouchard was also absent from Canada’s World Group tie last year.
Team Belarus
Unlike the Canadians, the Belarusians are only taking a minor hit by losing their number one ranked singles player, Victoria Azarenka. Belarus still boasts two top 100 singles players. Their team is led by Olga Govortsova, ranked 74, and Aliaksandra Sasnovich, ranked 99. Like the Canadians, the Belarusian team is fairly young. Govortsova is the lone player on the Belarusian team not born in the 1990's. Sasnovich is 21, and their two remaining players are younger still.
Govortsova will be teaming up with 17-year-old Vera Lapko, who just won the junior Australian Open title last weekend, for the doubles rubber. The fourth player for Belarus, Nika Shytkouskaya, is the youngest player in the tie, having turned 17 earlier this week. The Belarussians are at a distinct disadvantage in the doubles, as none of their players are ranked inside the top 300 in doubles, where as three of the four Canadians are.
Analysis
Belarus has a major advantage in singles, while Canada has a major advantage in doubles. The good news for Belarus is that there are four singles rubbers to only one doubles rubber. The big factor in this is how the Canadians will perform. We know what to expect from Govortsova, she will probably be solid and will be the favourite in both her matches.
If Wozniak plays to the best of her ability, she could win both of her singles ties. However, she is coming back from a long injury layoff and has not played at her top level in years. Abanda is another wild card. She is young and inexperienced. However, last year, she played exceptionally well in Canada’s World Group playoff against Romania. She gave the Canadians a fighting chance, balancing out Bouchard’s sloppy play with a win over Irina-Camelia Begu and pushing Andreea Mitu to three sets. Unfortunately, Bouchard went 0-2 and her fight was for not. But Abanda showed that she is capable of upping her level and playing well on home soil when it is needed. It is definitely needed this time around.
Of course, Belarus is not the most solid team either. Govortsova and Sasnovich are hardly superstars. They are ranked higher than either Canadian singles player, but they are both still in the bottom half in the top 100. They are certainly vulnerable to some great play by the Canadians.
The home crowd could be a major factor for the Canadians. The fans in Quebec City will be solidly behind the home team, which could play two roles. It could give the Canadians confidence, like it gave Abanda last year, and it could discourage and distract the Belarusians. As lower-ranked players, they may not be as used to a volatile, partisan crowd which means they could get in the Belarussians head.
Prediction: Belarus 3-2
At the end of the day, there are too many “ifs” for the Canadians. Abanda might be able to steal a singles rubber and the Canadians will probably claim the doubles rubber, but that will not be enough. Wozniak has not played a big matches in years and was never great under pressure when she was at her peak. The Belarussians are more experienced, albeit only slightly, and have played more big matches recently than the very young Canadian team. No Vika? No problem. Belarus will narrowly edge the home team to reach the World Group Playoffs.