As anticipated by many, Spain were dominant on the opening day of play against Serbia. Garbiñe Muguruza and Carla Suarez Navarro both won their matches in straight sets to give Spain a healthy 2-0 lead heading into the final day of their World Group II Fed Cup tie.
Muguruza's Experience Shows
Contrary to expectation, the Serbian's fielded Ivana Jorovic up first against Garbine Muguruza. The 18-year-old was making her Fed Cup debut and was unsurprisingly nervous early on before her home crowd in Kraljevo. Muguruza bossed the early exchanges to compile a 4-0 lead before Jorovic finally settled down. Backed on by the partisan crowd, the former junior world number one reeled off three successive games and came within a couple of points of achieving parity at 4-4. However, this was where the world number 5's experience counted as she survived her opponent's revival to slam the door shut, holding before breaking again for the set 6-3.
In the second set, the 22 year old quickly built a commanind 5-1 lead as her overpowering groundstrokes appeared to dispirit her younger opponent. However, Jorovic was far from finished and playing above her current ranking of 174, made Muguruza fight for her victory. After saving a break point in a marathon game, the Spaniard eventually closed out the match 6-3, 6-1 to maintain her unbeaten record in Fed Cup singles matches.
Suarez Navarro Weathers the Storm
If the first match seemed a foregone conclusion, the second proved difficult to predict. As Jelena Jankovic had won five of their previous seven encounters, she was expected to level up the proceedings.
The early signs were good for the former world number one as Jankovic twice went up a break in the first set. However, she was unable to capitalise on either of them as Suarez Navarro broke back straight away each time. The current world number eight was dictating the play with her heavy topspin and Jankovic allowed her fragile concentration to waver in the crucial tenth game due to a foot fault call. After failing to convert three game points, the 30-year-old lost her serve and with it the set 6-4.
The first set proved crucial to the outcome of the match as Suarez Navarro loosened up and took over in the second. The 27 year old recovered from losing her serve in the first game before winning five successive games as Jankovic's confidence waned. Despite yet another late reprieve as Jankovic broke to stay in the match, it merely delayed the inevitable. The world number 19 double faulted down match point, Suarez Navarro winning 6-4, 6-2 to give the Spaniards a tough to assail 2-0 lead heading into the final day.