ITF

24 ITFWorld // SPRING 2019 before partnering Samantha Stosur to beat the same duo and clinch the decisive doubles rubber. It was a repeat of Barty's hat-trick of victories against the USA in February, making her the first player in Fed Cup history to win six successive rubbers in the first round and semifinal en route to the final, under the current format. It took Barty's personal Fed Cup winning streak to 14 rubbers, while Stosur – the sole member of Alicia Molik's squad who was even alive the last time Australia reached the final 26 years ago – drew level with Kerry Reid on 37 Fed Cup wins, second on their nation's all-time Fed Cup honour roll. Meanwhile at Rouen's Kindarena, France contested their fourth Fed Cup semifinal in the last five years. By contrast, Romania were equalling their best-ever progress in the competition, having last made the semifinal 46 years ago. Their stunning defeat of the mighty Czech Republic in February had them gunning for an historic first-ever final, and Simona Halep had repeatedly stated her intense desire to win the Cup this year. Extraordinary numbers of Romanian fans crammed the Kindarena in support of their nation. But events were to unfold along a path few could have foreseen. French captain Julien Benneteau opted for his fourth- ranked player, Kristina Mladenovic, to open proceedings against Halep. The ultimate scoreline of 6-3 6-1 in the Romanian's favour belied the one hour and 40 minutes she required to overcome Mladenovic's gritty display. Honours were even after Caroline Garcia saw off Mihaela Buzarnescu; but it was in the battle of the No.1s that Garcia really impressed, despite being on the wrong end of the result after almost three hours – she delivered successive double faults at 4-4 in the deciding set, which proved pivotal. Both captains made a change for the fourth rubber. Irina- Camelia Begu was riding the wave of a five-match Fed Cup winning streak, yet it was Pauline Parmentier who claimed just her second Fed Cup singles win in nine attempts. Worse for Romania, Begu twisted her ankle while trailing in the third, fatefully ruling her out of the deciding doubles. Up stepped Halep, true to her pledge that she would do anything to see Romania win, ignoring a severely jarred hip sustained against Garcia. She teamed with Monica Niculescu to face Garcia and Mladenovic, persuaded by Benneteau to reunite on court for the first time in two-and- a-half years. An utterly riveting tussle unfolded before – irony of ironies, given earlier events – Halep double-faulted on break point at 4-4 in the third, leaving Garcia to serve out a famous win. It seems doubtful that history has anything informative to offer on the prospects for November's final. True, Australia hold a 5-1 Fed Cup lead against France, but their last win was 48 years ago. The two sides have not even met since 2000, when France won on the neutral ground of Moscow. The World Group play-offs saw Czech Republic make short work of Canada in Prostejov. Without injured Bianca Andreescu, the visitors could amass only 14 games in total from the singles rubbers, even though five of the Czechs' top six singles players were absent. The tie was notable for two events: 16-year-old Leylah Annie Fernandez became Pauline Parmentier posted a pivotal win against Irina-Camelia Begu F E D C U P B Y B N P PA R I B A S Romania supporters made their presence felt in Rouen

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