Swiss Fed Cup tie delayed by rain
Rain in Sydney has washed out the last three matches between Switzerland and Australia in the second round of the Fed Cup. Officials said play will resume on Monday.
Australia had taken an early 2-0 lead over Switzerland on Saturday, after Nicole Pratt and Alicia Molik beat Swiss sisters Myriam and Daniela Casanova in straight-set single matches.
Pratt beat Myriam Casanova 6-3, 6-1, while Molik defeated sister Daniela by the same scoreline.
The Swiss team had not been expected to perform well in Australia after the world number one Martina Hingis and Patty Schnyder (WTA 33) refused to make the long trip to Sydney and withdrew from the Fed Cup team.
Pratt and Molik started as strong favourites against the Casanova sisters, who are more than 400 places below them in the world rankings.
Despite easing to a comfortable victory over the 16-year-old Myriam Casanova, Pratt had words of praise for her young Swiss opponent after the match.
“She came out firing, ” the world number 71 said, “with a great backhand down the line, and I was surprised.”
“Myriam’s definitely got a good future. Certainly, she played a hell of a lot better than her ranking suggests,” she added.
Myriam and Daniela Casanova are ranked 497th and 536th respectively in the world.
When the matches resume, the Casanovas will be joined by Switzerland’s other representative, the Geneva-based Aliénor Tricerri.
Australia’s Pratt and Rachel McQuillan are scheduled to meet Myriam Casanova and Tricerri in the second round’s only doubles tie, while the Casanovas will once again face Pratt and Molik in the second set of singles matches.
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