U.S. Defeats Germany in Fed Cup

[February 05, 2008]  SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Move over, Lindsay Davenport, and make room for another star on the U.S. Fed Cup team.

Shaking off nerves, 22-year-old Fed Cup rookie Ashley Harkleroad rallied from a 4-1 deficit in the second set to beat Germany's Sabine Lisicki 6-4, 7-5 on a picture-perfect Southern California day to clinch the quarterfinal match on Monday.

Harkleroad's victory followed Davenport's 6-1, 6-2 win over 19-year-old Julia Goerges in reverse singles, sending the United States into a World Group road semifinal in April against defending Fed Cup champion Russia, which most likely will be led by Maria Sharapova.

The United States finished 4-1 against Germany after Davenport and Lisa Raymond won the doubles 6-2, 6-0 over Tatjana Malek and Anna-Lena Groenefeld.

Despite getting the Americans into the next round with two singles victories, Harkleroad might not make the cut for the semifinal if team captain Zina Garrison can get either Venus or Serena Williams -- or both -- to commit.

"Ashley was a bonus," Garrison said. "She went out there and laid it on the line like I asked her to and came up with some good shots when she needed them."

The Americans haven't won the Fed Cup since 2000. They lost to Russia in the World Group semifinals in both 2005 and '07.

"I'm tired of Russia," 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. We know we have to get through them if we want to get to the finals.

"I really want the ones who are here right now just to enjoy the fact that we have the opportunity to go to Russia and I'll think about what the team is from there."

Pressed on the Williams sisters, Garrison said: "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."

Harkleroad, of Rossville, Ga., said she'd like to play against Russia but would understand if she doesn't.

"I wouldn't be disappointed at all," she said. "It just means that I would be able to continue to play tournaments and work on my own ranking, continue to play and continue to move up."

Sharapova made her Fed Cup debut during the weekend, winning her two matches to lead Russia to a 4-1 win over Israel.

Harkleroad was brilliant in her debut in the women's equivalent of the Davis Cup. She won both of her singles matches in straight sets, carrying the Americans after the veteran Davenport faltered badly in losing Saturday's opening singles match in straight sets to the 18-year-old Lisicki.

After play was postponed by a steady rain on Sunday, the 31-year-old Davenport regained her pride and her game in beating Goerges on Monday morning to give the Americans a 2-1 lead in the best-of-5 match.

Harkleroad clinched in dramatic fashion.

After falling behind in the second set, she held serve, then broke Lisicki's serve on 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 an American 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," she said. "At the end I felt like my arm was like 100 pounds. The last second serve, I think I laid it in about 20 mph, but it worked, so I'm happy."

Said Davenport: "She really carried the team. Just to get through and give ourselves another opportunity later in the year is really exciting."

Neither Davenport nor Goerges gave up a point in their first service games. Goerges had break point in the third game before Davenport rallied to put her away for a 2-1 lead. Goerges was up 30-love in the next game when Davenport rallied to break serve, then won out.

Davenport, who's coming back following the birth of her first child in June, had her only real hiccup in the match 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.

[Associated Press; By BERNIE WILSON]

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