Fed Cup: Romania defeats Canada 3-2 in Montreal to reach World Group I

Romanian tennis player Alexandra Dulgheru defeated Francoise Abanda 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 on Sunday in Montreal to qualify Romania to World Group I, for the first time since 1981. The match lasted two hours and eleven minutes.

Also on Sunday, Andreea Mitu, who replaced Irina Begu, defeated Eugenie Bouchard (7^th WTA) 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 in a surprise result.

“I am very glad, Andreea Mitu (104^th WTA) had a great match. I was very tired, but I tried to believe in me, to play well. It is a strange surface, Abanda is a good player. Fed Cup is giving me wings, I’ve won two games. I can hardly wait to get home,” Alexandra Dulgheru said after the match.

According to tenniscanada.com, following the Bouchard loss, Canada’s chances looked bleak with Abanda coming out to take on Dulgheru, the Romanian heroine of Saturday’s action with her upset of Bouchard.

But the 18-year-old Montrealer played strong, solid tennis on serve and from the backcourt and led 6-4, 4-2 against the 25-year-old Romanian, who said she had a lot of trouble finding her rhythm after playing the heavier hitting Bouchard a day earlier.

“Just move your feet and put more energy into the game,” that was the advice that Dulgheru would later reveal she got from her captain Alina Cercel-Tecsor.

Dulgheru won three games in a row to lead 5-4 and the match was poised to go either way. Abanda, who had played for two hours and 40 minutes in overcoming Begu 24 hours earlier, hung in the rallies but eventually Dulgheru, back on her game, was the slightly better player and took the set 7-5 on her second set point.

After bathroom breaks at the end of the set, Abanda broke serve to love in the opening game of the third set and led 40-15 in the second game. But Dulgheru rallied and won the second game to end Abanda’s momentum. Both players held serve to 2-all but after that Dulgheru gradually pulled away.

“It was a weird match,” she said, “for a set and a half I didn’t feel the ball. But even when she led 4-2 in the second set, I was already feeling I was (back) in the game.”

Dulgheru, ranked No. 69, noted about Abanda, “if she keeps going she has good potential. She’s tall, she has a good serve and she moves easily – takes one step and she’s already there.”

About any possible fatigue factor after beating No. 33-ranked Begu on Saturday in a long match, Abanda said, “I played one tough match yesterday and I had another big challenge today. I can’t say that I was top shape in the third set. It was definitely a bit hard physically and mentally but I give credit to my opponent because she really stayed in there. She won so I guess it wasn’t enough. I guess I’ll have to keep improving overall.”

Canadians Gabriela Dabrowski /Sharon Fichman defeated 6-1, 4-6, 10-5 Andreea Mitu/Raluca Olaru in the last match of the day to set the final score to 3-2 for Romania.

On Saturday, Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard fell in straight sets against Romanian Alexandra Dulgheru 6-4, 6-4. Also on Saturday Francoise Abanda defeated Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 in the opening singles match of the best-of-five tie.

Photo: tenniscanada.com