Lindsay Davenport and Ashley Harkleroad won their singles for the US to beat Germany 4-1 in their rain-delayed Fed Cup quarter-final on Monday.
Rain washed out all play on Sunday with the score 1-1, and Davenport quickly put the US ahead on Monday by defeating Julia Goerges 6-1, 6-2 in 46 minutes, then Fed Cup first-timer Harkleroad secured victory by downing Sabine Lisicki 6-4, 7-5, rallying from 4-1 down in the second set.
Both Germans were playing in their first tie.
PHOTO: AFP
Lisa Raymond and Davenport completed the tie by winning the doubles 6-2, 6-0 in 41 minutes from Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Tatjana Malek.
The US will visit defending champion Russia in April for their third semi-final against each other in four years.
"I'm tired of Russia," US captain Zina Garrison said with a laugh. "Russia, we know going into it, it's going to be tough. Lindsay's already given me the go-ahead to call those Williamses [Venus and Serena]. I'm going to go for both of them. We need the strongest team possible out there. If I get one and Lindsay, that's good, but if you can get both of them, that's an extra bonus."
A Maria Sharapova-led Russia beat Israel 4-1 on Sunday.
The other semi features China against Spain.
On Sunday, China edged France 3-2, and Spain beat Italy 3-2.
Harkleroad was brilliant in her debut, winning both of her singles in straight sets, and carrying the US after Davenport faltered badly in losing Saturday's opening singles match in straight sets to 18-year-old Lisicki.
Davenport regained her pride and her game in beating 19-year-old Goerges.
Harkleroad clinched the match in dramatic fashion.
After falling behind in the second set, she held serve, then broke Lisicki's serve to love to pull to 4-3. Lisicki broke Harkleroad and was serving for the set when Harkleroad again broke serve to win the first of four straight games. Serving for the match, Harkleroad had a fault, then won it when the German's backhand service return hit the tape, went up in the air and fell back down on Lisicki's side.
Harkleroad raised both arms in the air, then grabbed a US flag for a victory lap around the court at La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club.
"I'm just proud of myself and super excited with the way that I played and handled my nerves," Harkleroad said.
"At the end I felt like my arm was like 100 pounds. The last second serve, I think I laid it in about 20mph [32kph], but it worked, so I'm happy," she said.
Said Davenport: "She really carried the team. Just to get through and give ourselves another opportunity later in the year is really exciting."
Davenport, the three-time Grand Slam champion who's coming back following the birth of her first child in June, had her only real hiccup against Goerges when she lost two straight games after taking a 5-0 lead in the second set.
"I just felt pressure more for my pride," Davenport said. "Normally I've played so well in Fed Cup. I felt really bad for my teammates. Most importantly, I was able to win an important match for the team."
Davenport pushed her overall Fed Cup record to 32-3.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was