USA overcome emotions to take 2-0 lead against Ukraine
14/04/2022 17:00Emotions were running high during the opening ceremony as the Ukrainian national anthem filled the arena in Asheville, but the American players maintained their composure to get the job done and move 2-0 up on day one
There wasn’t a dry eye in the house as the American players listened to their opponents’ anthem ahead of the Billie Jean King Cup Qualifier between USA and Ukraine in Asheville.
But despite the obvious emotion that is surrounding the clash between USA and Ukraine, Kathy Rinaldi’s team put their game face on and clinched a 2-0 lead after day one thanks to contrasting victories for Jessica Pegula and Alison Riske.
World No. 14 Pegula, ranked some 187 places higher than her opponent Katarina Zavatska, demonstrated why she has risen up the rankings with a clinical display to win 6-2 6-1 in one hour and four minutes.
Crisp hitting and fine footwork were enough to see the 28-year-old through in front of a respectful home crowd at the Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville.
“I don’t think rankings mean much,” said Pegula. “All the girls behind me play amazing tennis have wins every week and I’m just really proud to be a part of the girls who are all playing really well right now.”
Pegula’s relatively straightforward encounter was the polar opposite of team-mate Alison Riske’s opening encounter against Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska.
It took Riske two hours and 19 minutes to clinch a topsy-turvy encounter 7-6(16) 7-5, which featured the second-longest tiebreak in Billie Jean King Cup history.
Once the American had captured the opening set with that mammoth breaker, she looked to be on the verge of completing a straight-sets victory when she was 5-1 to the good in the second set, but Yastremska refused to lie down and battled back to 5-5.
The Ukrainian was unable to force a second tiebreak, however, when Riske found another gear and started to find more accuracy on her groundstrokes. A close final game was clinched by a pair of unforced errors off the Ukrainian racket.
After the match, Riske joked: “I’m just really offended that wasn’t the No. 1 longest tiebreaker in history! I was thinking as I was playing it that ‘this has to be something’ because it was really special.”
The victory was only Riske’s second singles win while wearing her country’s colours. The 31-year-old is no stranger to the women’s world cup of tennis and she explained why this competition is important to her and why this current crop of American players get on so well.
“Every time I play for Team USA, I want to win. I want to win for my team. It’s always really special for me. I always feel the pressure when I’m playing here. I’m just grateful to the fans who are here for Team USA.
“Pretty much everyone on this team I have known since I was 12 years old, so it’s really amazing to share this experience with them and to have their support – it’s just the best.”
Play continues on Saturday 16 April with the reverse singles. USA now need just one more win to book their place in the 2022 Billie Jean King Cup Finals.
Rinaldi’s team came close to reaching the final last year, but fell 2-1 in a decisive doubles against eventual winners Russian Tennis Federation.