USA vs. Sweden
Our #2 singles player, Renata (Which I will be sharing my interview I did with her earlier today later in this blog!) played against Christina Marmolin of Sweden. Renata won the toss and picked the sunny side so her opponent served first. She used her heavy topspin to win the first game. Renata then lost her serve for 1-1. She broke for a 2-1 lead then held after being down 15-40 for a 3-1 lead. She broke for a 4-1 lead. With her awesome drop shots Renata then held serve for a 5-1 lead. At this point her opponent started to turn it on and won 3 games in a row. Now Renata was serving at 5-4 and won the game and set 6-4. In the 2nd set Renata broke for a 1-0 lead then kept her momentum going for a 5-1 lead just like she did in the 1st set but she did not let her opponent from Sweden back in and won the 2nd set 6-1. Great job Renata! USA up 1-0.
Our #1 singles player, Vesna, played Anna Sundmark of Sweden. Vesna lost the 1st game then held serve for 1-1. She then broke her opponent’s serve to go up 2-1. Vesna held serve for 3-1 then broke being down 0-40 to go up 4-1. She ended up winning the set 6-1 with great clay court playing!! In the 2nd set Vesna went on to defeat her opponent 6-1 using her awesome clay court skills to seal the deal.
Great job Vesna….you make your captain proud!! USA up 2-0.
In our doubles match, Rachel and Carolyn won 6-0, 6-0 against Sweden. They played very well together with great returns, good percentage tennis and using Australian doubles to throw their opponents returns off. This strategy worked very well. Great job girls!
USA wins 3-0!!
This means we are in the Semi-finals on Friday against the #1 seeds Italy. We have tomorrow (Thursday) off and we will be sightseeing together as a team. We may even check out Rafa Nadal’s apartment building. J
Interview with Renata Marcinkowska
Renata is the veteran on our team this year. When asked Renata told me she has been in 6 of these World Team Cup Championships:
2003-Germany
2004-Turkey
2005-Australia
2006-South Africa
2008-Turkey
2009-Mallorca
Wow, how lucky we are to have her on our team!!
Renata is an Independent Tennis Consultant. She dabbles in real estate on the weekends when she is not teaching.
Renata speaks several languages.
Are you having fun with your team?
Yes Maam! Everyone has been very friendly, supportive and genuine. Everyone comes from different backgrounds and really did not know each other before this event and we all get along great!
Is there any foods from America you miss?
No, all the food here is great!
I do miss my father and sister and animals from back home!!
We are very happy Renata is on our team this year and thank you Renata for letting me interview you!
J Rachel Gale, Captain, 40’s Young Cup Team