Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario has put Spain in a strong position at the end of the first day's play in the Austria vs Spain Semifinal, by beating Barbara Schett 63 76(5) to secure a 2-0 lead for Spain.

With a 1-0 lead provided by her teammate Conchita Martinez, Spain’s veteran superstar Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario took the court against Austria’s Barbara Schett in the second match of the semifinals of the 2002 Gran Canaria Fed Cup Finals. Sanchez-Vicario’s appearance today marks her record-tying 57th Fed Cup tie, equalling the feat of Great Britain’s Virginia Wade at the top of the list of the most Fed Cup ties played. With 71 Fed Cup victories to her credit prior to this match, Sanchez-Vicario is already the all-time leader in most matches won, ahead of the second place Wade with 66. Both Sanchez-Vicario and Martinez are hoping for a chance to win a sixth Fed Cup for Spain, having won their first of five titles in 1991 and reaching their first final in 1989.

All the pressure was on Schett to sustain Austria’s hopes in this year’s Fed Cup. She struggled a bit on her opening serve but held to take a 1-0 lead. Sanchez-Vicario, who will turn 31 on 18 December, may be a step slower these days but it did not show in the opening stages of the match, although she was challenged repeatedly on her serve by her younger opponent. Sanchez-Vicario, well known for her fighting spirit, was able to avoid being broken then turned the tables on Schett, breaking the Austrian to take a 5-3 lead in the match.

Serving at 3-5, Schett saved two set points against Sanchez-Vicario but finally the Spaniard broke through to take the opening set, accompanied by the cheers of the Spanish fans in the stadium.

Despite a strong challenge from Schett in the opening game of the second set, Sanchez-Vicario held on for a 1-0 lead. Schett held serve to level the set and then the Spaniard won four straight service points to inch ahead 2-1.

Frustration showed on Schett’s face throughout the changeover as she spoke with her captain Alfred Tesar while Sanchez-Vicario and her captain Miguel Margets looked the picture of confidence.

At this point in the match, the Spaniard’s strategy seemed to be to run Schett around as much as possible. This was working whenever Schett turned in a less than perfect serve. On the second deuce on Schett’s serve, a Spanish error gave the Austrian the advantage and she was finally able to get out of trouble with a well-placed smash to level the set at two games all.

A confident looking Sanchez-Vicario won the next game easily while Schett struggled with her backhand. In the next game, Sanchez got ahead 15-40 then pounced and broke Schett to take a 4-2 lead in the set. Schett broke immediately back for 4-3 then turned in a strong service game to level the set at four games all.

Sanchez-Vicario held serve for 5-4 then Schett, serving to stay in the match, got behind on her serve 0-40. Just when hope seemed to be gone for Austria, Schett clawed her way back to level the set again with Sanchez-Vicario squandering four match point opportunities in the game.

Sanchez-Vicario showed some flashy play using a combination of strong serving and effective passing shots to take a 6-5 lead in the match. Serving to stay in the match, Schett was once again in trouble on her serve, but saved another two match points to force a tiebreak.

Schett jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the tiebreak but Sanchez-Vicario won the next five points to win the tiebreak 7-5 and the match 6-3 7-6 (5) to give Spain a 2-0 lead in the tie.

“I played very disciplined when I had match points against me,” said Schett. “I had a couple of break points early but she took the first chance that she had to break me. I definitely had my chances. I played the aggressive game. I made the points and I made the mistakes. Probably I should have been more patient but, if I had won the second set, I would have had another chance.”

Sanchez-Vicario was more than pleased about her victory and could perhaps be forgiven for looking ahead towards a possible final.

Asked if a victory this year would mean as much as her first title in 1991, Sanchez-Vicario replied: “I think that you always remember your first victory. Your dream comes true to win the Fed Cup. Conchita and I were very young when we first played and we are happy to have a chance maybe to win again, more than ten years later. We are better players with more experience and it would mean a lot to win the Fed Cup for myself, for the crowd and for my country.”

Singles
1M lost Arantxa Sanchez Vicario 3-6 6-7
2M beat Conchita Martinez 7-5 6-7 6-2

Doubles with Wartusch
3M lost Martinez/Ruano-Pascual 6-4 3-6 1-6
Austria lost 2-3

Photos

Gallery 1

Gallery 2

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