Germany hammers depleted RI, France into Fed Cup semis<\/p>\n
Agencies, Essen, Germany<\/p>\n
German number one Anna-Lena Groenefeld put a weakened
\nIndonesian team out of its misery on Sunday as she swept aside
\nWynne Prakusya to give the hosts an unbeatable 3-0 lead in their
\nFed Cup World Group II tie.<\/p>\n
Groenefeld, ranked 47th on the WTA computer, needed just 56
\nminutes to defeat 422nd ranked Wynne 6-0, 6-2 on the red clay
\ncourts of Etuf Essen stadium.<\/p>\n
Germany went up 4-0 when Anca Barna defeated veteran Romana
\nTedjakusuma 6-4, 6-4 in 84 minutes. It was California-based
\nRomana's first Fed Cup match in three years.<\/p>\n
In the first match, Wynne raced to a 40-0 lead in Groenefeld's
\nopening service game, but from then on struggled increasingly to
\ndeal with the powerful groundstrokes coming her way.<\/p>\n
Groenefeld saved the break points before winning the opening
\ngame from an unforced error, www.fedcup.com reported.<\/p>\n
The German won the first set in 25 minutes of one-sided
\nbombardment on both flanks against an opponent who simply had no
\nweapon in her armament to worry the 19 year old.<\/p>\n
Groenefeld was similarly ruthless in the second set, opening
\nup a 3-0 lead before Wynne took her first service game. Although
\nshe won another game, it was too late to change a losing
\nscoreline.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, Indonesia, without injured number one Angelique
\n"Angie" Widjaja, had picked up just five games in its two singles
\nmatches.<\/p>\n
Groenefeld needed only 53 minutes to overpower 16-year-old Ayu
\nFani Damayanti 6-3 6-1 before Julia Schruff took two minutes
\nlonger in blasting Wynne off the court 6-1 6-0.<\/p>\n
"They're too tough," Indonesian captain Suzanna Anggarkusuma
\nwas quoted as saying on the Fed Cup's official website. "The
\ncourts do not suit us. We're used to playing on hardcourts, but
\nin any case they move so much better than us and cover the court
\nso well."<\/p>\n
In contrast, Barbara Rittner was thoroughly enjoying her first
\nday as captain for the two-time Fed Cup winners.<\/p>\n
"To be honest, they (Indonesia) are a little outclassed out
\nthere. They are missing their number one and they are more used
\nto playing on hard courts -- which is why, of course, we picked a
\nclaycourt," she said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, in Phuket, Croatia qualified for the World Group I
\nplayoffs on Sunday after Jelena Kostanic and Sanda Mamic won the
\ndecisive doubles rubber against Montinee Tangphong and Napaporn
\nTongsalee 6-4, 6-2 in their World Group II tie for a 3-2 win.<\/p>\n
In Poertschach, Austria, France, who lost to Russia in the
\n2004 final, rebounded from the upset of Natalie Dechy on Saturday
\nby little known Yvonne Meusburger to take a winning 3-1 lead over
\nthe hosts on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Razzano, who had brought her team level at 1-1 by defeating
\nsurprise selection Tamira Paszek, a 14-year-old schoolgirl, on
\nSaturday, beat Meusburger 6-3, 7-6.<\/p>\n
Dechy then overcame surprisingly strong resistance from Paszek
\n7-6, 6-2 to give France the win.<\/p>\n
In Brindisi, Italy, Russia, without their three grand slam
\nsingles winners Anastasia Myskina, Maria Sharapova and Svetlana
\nKuznetsova, had Elena Dementieva to thank for taking both her
\nsingles and putting the team ahead 2-1.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, she beat Francesca Schiavone 4-6, 7-6, 6-0 after
\nbeating Tathiana Garbin 6-4, 6-3.<\/p>\n
Schiavone triumphed 7-5 6-3 over Dinara Safin in the opening
\nsingles on Saturday.<\/p>",
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