U.S. Thumped by France, Trails 0-2 in Fed Cup Final

Posted on November 24, 2003

France surprised no one by jumping to a 2-0 lead against the U.S. after day one of the Fed Cup final, but not without some resistance.

Amelie Mauresmo handled American Lisa Raymond 6-4, 6-3 with a workman-like effort in the opener, fighting back from a break in the second set, but U.S. No. 2 Meghann Shaughnessy gave the French a scare in the second match, extending Mary Pierce to 6-3, 3-6, 8-6 in a marathon.

"She was a little more aggressive," Shaughnessy said. "She went for it more than I did, and that's what it takes."

French captain Guy Forget says his team needs to put a cap on it Sunday and not slack off, needing just one win in the three scheduled matches.

"After beating the Russians, everyone, even our own French supporters, were saying it's going to be easy, the hardest part is done," he said. "But today both matches were very hard, so we still have to fight for our victory."

The U.S. will need a miraculous comeback on Sunday, with Shaughnessy beating Mauresmo for the first time in her career, Raymond beating Pierce, and Raymond/Navratilova winning the doubles.

2004 FED CUP DRAW
The first round of the 2004 Fed Cup will be played on April 24-25:

U.S. at Slovenia
Slovak Republic at Austria
Australia at Russia
Japan at Argentina
Czech Republic at Italy
Germany at France
Switzerland at Spain
Croatia at Belgium

FED CUP FINAL TEAM HEAD-TO-HEAD
The U.S. leads France 10-0 in their World Group head-to-head encounters, though the two nations have never before met in the final:

1995 USA d. FRA 3-2 in USA on carpet (SF)
1994 USA d. FRA 3-0 in GER on clay (SF)
1992 USA d. FRA 2-1 in GER on clay (QF)
1987 USA d. FRA 3-0 in CAN on hardcourt (2nd rd.)
1979 USA d. FRA 3-0 in ESP on clay (QF)
1978 USA d. FRA 3-0 in AUS on grass (QF)
1977 USA d. FRA 3-0 in GBR on grass (QF)
1974 USA d. FRA 3-0 in ITA on clay (QF)
1968 USA d. FRA 2-1 in FRA on clay (QF)
1966 USA d. FRA 2-1 in ITA on clay (QF)

FED CUP FINAL INDIVIDUAL HEAD-TO-HEAD
The French hold a distinct head-to-head advantage over the American team, with only Chanda Rubin coming out ahead against French No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo:

Amelie MAURESMO (FRA) leads Meghann SHAUGHNESSY (USA) 1-0
2003 Stuttgart Hard (I) 32 Amelie MAURESMO 7-6(4) 6-2

Mary PIERCE (FRA) leads Lisa RAYMOND (USA) 2-1
2000 U.S. Open Hard (O) 32 Mary PIERCE 6-4 7-6
2003 Wimbledon Grass (O) 32 Mary PIERCE 4-6 6-3 7-5
2003 San Diego Hard (O) 16 Lisa RAYMOND 6-7(5) 4-6

FED CUP FINAL DRAW
Sunday, November 23 -- Meghann Shaughnessy vs. Amelie Mauresmo, Lisa Raymond vs. Mary Pierce, Martina Navratilova/Lisa Raymond vs. Emilie Loit/Mary Pierce

NOTES, QUOTES, AND BARBS
With terrorists now going nuts in Greece, is that going to effect tennis participation in the Athens Olympics next year?...John McEnroe meets Petr Korda in a repeat of last year's senior tour Monte Carlo final -- McEnroe needed to beat Mats Wilander in straight sets to reach the final, and worked the Swedish former No. 1 6-1, 6-2...Marcelo Rios has been cleared by a Chilean military tribunal over allegations that he attacked police officers outside a Santiago bar in September, according to Reuters. Rios underwent back surgery in September, and is still training for the 2004 season and searching for a coach.