The Netherlands in the world top eight?
An exciting weekend is coming up: the Dutch tennis top will battle for a place among the best eight countries in the world! Kiki Bertens, Arantxa Rus, Richèl Hogenkamp en Michaëlla Krajicek will face the Australian Fed Cup team in Den Bosch. This excellent team, with US-Open champion and Roland Garros finalist Samantha Stosur as team leader was literally a few points away from a place in the Fed Cup final last last. “We were so close and we definitely want to go back to the World Group I. Especially since we have the feeling that we can actually win the Fed Cup”, tells captain and former player Alicia Molik. With Stosur (25 and former number one in the doubles), Dellacqua (44), Gajdosova (48) and Rogowska (192) Australia has strong single players and good doubles combinations at her disposal. On paper Australia is the favorite and the Dutch team could be seen as the underdog. Still, the Australian ladies do not underestimate their Dutch opponent.
“Magical things happen during the Fed Cup and often players really step up a level with the support of their team and the crowd. We are aware of that.” – Molik
A fine opportunity, but a long way to go
That the Dutch players are capable of playing their best tennis during the Fed Cup became clear when they defeated six opponents in a row. Still, looking at the ladies current ranking (varying from 86 to 441 in the singles) is it unexpected that they now battle for a place among the world top eight? “No, the girls have shown that they can pull of a stunt against opponents who are better on paper. They know they can do that. The fact that during the Fed Cup the players show their best tennis on court, is great for Dutch tennis, for the team and for me as their captain”, tells Paul Haarhuis. “This is a great opportunity to conquer a place among the world top, but we have a long way ahead of us. Our opponent is tough and on paper we actually should lose, but in reality we can win.”
“We can play freely and have nothing to lose. The pressure is on Australia. Nobody expects us to simply defeat them.” – Haarhuis
Clay court for Australia
Though the captain would have preferred to face the Australians on a fast surface, Bertens, Rus and Hogenkamp quickly agreed on the choice to play on clay. “Unfortunately it was 3-1 in favour of clay within the team”, jokes Michaëlla who was the only player who opted to play on hardcourt. However since Rus defeated Stosur on the grass courts of Wimbledon in 2012, would this not have been a smarter choice to play on? “Well, grass is not an option inside I think”, answers the unshakable Rus. “I prefer to play on clay instead of a faster surface and I hold on to my own strength. Bertens agrees with this and she notices that as a US-Open champion Stosur can play pretty well on hardcourt as well. So far we have realised good results playing on clay, so that gives us confidence.” Even though the individual results of the Dutch players have not been great lately, Haarhuis sees opportunities to win for the Dutch. “In my opinion we have chances in all five matches. If we play well, we will create some chances which we will try to take, as well as in the singles as in the doubles”.
Australia is an opponent that plays at a higher level in general, but it is not certain that they will also be able to play their best this weekend. We face a tough challenge, but not an impossible one.” – Haarhuis
Pressure during practice, pressure during matches
The days before the big matches are used by the Dutch team to practice together and to build trust. “In the beginning it is all about hitting a lot of balls, than you start playing points and on Friday you just go through all your strokes in a relax manner, to be able to peak and give it all during the weekend”, explains Haarhuis. If he already knows who is going to play which match? “No, I have never decided on that before Friday. Everybody gets the chance at the beginning of the week to prove themselves to be ready to play singles. This also increases the pressure during the practices. This is good, because this way the pressure the players feel during a match might be more easy to handle.” So nobody can relax during practice and there is a lot of hard work going on on court. “Luckily there is time for a joke and we have a lot of fun with each other”, tells Bertens smiling. If these ingredients will lead to a stunt of the Dutch against Australia will become clear this Saturday and Sunday.
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