Announcement of a match in which the winner is known, and our team has no right to lose
The Ukrainian national team accepts Japan as a clear favorite. Ukrainians are aware of this, and Japanese women themselves are also aware of this. Moreover, the guests resigned themselves to defeat ahead of schedule and brought a young and completely inexperienced squad to Ukraine. Gain experience and so on. If you manage to win, they are guaranteed to be national heroines.
Everything became clear after the decision of Naomi Osaka not to participate in the playoffs. As a result, the Japanese did not even bring Misaki Doi or Kurumi Naru. And they played against the Spaniards in the last match. All tennis players who will face the Ukrainian national team will make their debut for the national team.
The teams have never met before. The path to the playoffs was different. The Ukrainian national team won a ticket in the confrontation with Estonia in the first group of the Europe/Africa division. The Japanese lost the match for reaching the final of the Fed Cup against Spain. By the way, Osaka then failed her duel, losing to Sarah Sorribes Tormo. The Spaniards, even without Garbine Muguruza, beat a much stronger line-up of Japan than the one that will oppose Ukraine.
The winner advances to the Fed Cup qualifiers in 2022. The losing team is relegated to the regional group. For Ukraine, this is a good opportunity to improve in the class. The Japanese women, apparently, are ready to be demoted and play with the youth.
- Billie Jean King Cup. Playoffs
Friday, April 16 – 11:00
Elina Svitolina – Chihiro Muramatsu
Marta Kostyuk – Yuki Naito
Saturday, April 17 — 11:00
Elina Svitolina as Yuki Naito
Marta Kostyuk – Chihiro Muramatsu
The strongest player in this Japanese roster is Yuki Naito. The 20-year-old athlete is ranked 172 in the WTA rankings. She is an expert in ground cover. On the slow surface this year, Naito has won 5 of her 6 matches. True, it is necessary to take into account the level of rivals. The most representative tournament is ITF14 in Buenos Aires.
But there should be no underestimation. Naito consistently plays well on the clay and it is due to him that he is progressing in the rankings. Yuki’s first match is scheduled against Marta Kostyuk.
It is interesting that Kostyuk lost her last clay match to the Japanese Nao Khibina in the first round of Roland Garros last year. And before that, she won against Kurumi Nara in qualifying. Martha has continued to improve since then, while Naito is still far from the level of her two compatriots.
Elina Svitolina’s first opponent will be Chihiro Muramatsu. Chihiro is 23 years old and currently ranked 223rd in the WTA rankings. The statistics of the Japanese woman this year are not impressive in any way – two out of five fights won, all at competitions of a rather low level. Another circumstance is not in her favor – Muramatsu loves hard and does not play very well on clay. Chihiro’s last tournament was the ITF in Bellinzona, where she was eliminated after the second round. The only possible “inconvenience” for Svitolina may be in the style of a Japanese woman who plays with her left hand. However, there shouldn’t be any real problems.
Shiho Akita and Himara Sato announced to the pair meeting of Japanese women. Both, even with such an experimental composition, are weak links. Akito is the only “experienced” tennis player. She is 31 years old and is ranked 401st in the WTA rankings (685th in the pair). Shiho is a full hard player. She played her last match on clay back in 2019, and in general she played very rarely on slow surface.
Sato, 19, hasn’t played at all yet in 2021. For her level, she is quite versatile, she can play both on clay and on other surfaces. Is it worth mentioning that Akita and Sato never played together? And Himara herself is in the ninth hundred of the rating of couples. For the Kichenok sisters, their duet should not be a problem.
The Japanese team could have put up a stronger team, even without Naomi Osaka. The same composition can be characterized by the Olympic principle: the main thing is participation. The only really dangerous player is Naito, who is skilled on clay. However, the ITF in Buenos Aires and Bellinzona is not the level that can scare Marta Kostyuk.
Ukrainian women should not only win the match as a whole, but even crush their rivals. What can the coaches say to the Japanese women before the matches with Kostyuk and Svitolina? Play for fun, without worrying about the result. It is inspiring.
The Ukrainian national team must limit such a moral flight of rivals. And prove your class. Confident victory and promotion – this is the task our girls face. And she is quite capable of them.
Source: Sportarena
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