Canada needs to win one match Sunday to reach the world elite of tennis, as Montreal-area tennis stars shone in Quebec City Saturday.
It took world No. 18 Bouchard two hours seven minutes to beat No. 137 Kristina Kucova in three sets 7-6 (0), 2-6, 6-1 in the Fed Cup World Group playoff tie at Laval University in Quebec City.
Aleksandra Wozniak earned a 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 win over Jana Cepelova in the first match of the tie.
On Sunday Bouchard will battle Cepelova and Wozniak will face Kucova.
The winner will advance to the World Group I for 2015 while the loser will compete in the World Group II. Canada and Slovakia have only met once in Fed Cup play, with the Slovaks winning 5-0 in Bratislava in 1997.
“I didn’t play well today. I am proud the way I fought through it” said Bouchard after the match
Bouchard only started winning some key rallies after she fell to 0-3 in the opening set. She evetually tied the set 6-6 and won seven straight points in the tiebreaker to take the first set 7-6.
But Kucova, who never finished a season being ranked inside the WTA’s Top 100, played with even more determination. Hitting winners off both sides with her two-handed groundstrokes she won the second set quickly and decisively.
“I know I can play well against top players,” said Kucova. “This year I’ve already played three-set matches against Flavia (Pennetta) and Alize (Cornet). I lost, but I know I can play at their level.”
Bouchard then centred herself and cruised to a 6-1 win in the final set.
Earlier, Aleksandra Wozniak earned a 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 win over Jana Cepelova in the first match of the tie.
Wozniak trailed 2-5 in the second set before she began playing more confidently off the ground, moving her opponent around the court and forcing errors from the young Slovak.
“It was a difficult match,” said Wozniak. “We’ve never played before so I was focusing on reading her game, and this is why I was missing so much in the beginning of the match”
Cepelova, ranked almost 100 spots higher than Wozniak, twice served for the match in the second and third sets but couldn’t finish off the win.
“I wanted to win this match so much! I’ve been here for 12 days waiting for today,” said Wozniak. “It was so close, and I thought I’ve already won this match”
In doubles competition Toronto’s Sharon Fichman and Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski will play Janette Husarova and Cepelova Sunday to beat Slovakia for a place in the elite World Group.
-With files from The Canadian Press
