Belarus, Russia secure Fed Cup Finals 2020 spots

Tie between second-seeded Netherlands and Belarus in Sportcampus Zuiderpark in The Hague was probably the most interesting tie of the Fed Cup Qualifiers. It involved two TOP 15 players and all 5 matches out of which 3 were finished in the 3rd set.

On day 1, Kiki Bertens turned the match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich to give the Netherlands lead in the tie. Bertens lost the first set 6-7 but managed to win the second and third 6-2, 6-1.

The second match of the tie was the fastest. Aryna Sabalenka eased past Arantxa Rus 6-3, 6-2 to level the score after day 1. However, Bertens gave the Netherlands lead once again at the beginning of the second day. The Dutch outplayed Sabalenka 6-4, 6-4.

But Sasnovich was the Belarusian hero during the second day. She came back after losing the first set 0-6 to Arantxa Rus. Winning the second set 7-5 and the third 6-2, players were heading into the decisive doubles. Kiki Bertens and Demi Schuurs faced Aryna Sabalenka and Aliaksandra Sasnovich. Hopes of the supporters in The Hague were high once again after Bertens & Schuurs managed to win the first set 6-4. However, Sabalenka & Sasnovich turned the match to send Belarus to the 2020 Fed Cup Finals.

After Slovakia defeated 8th seeded Great Britan, Russia was the second country to defeat the seeded country. However, this was caused mostly due to absence of the Romanian number 1, Simona Halep.

Ekaterina Alexandrova outplayed Elena Gabriela Ruse 6-1, 6-4 in the first match of the tie. Later during day 1, Ana Bogdan went on to level the score of the tie defeating Veronika Kudermetova 6-3, 6-7, 6-1.

It was the same story for Russia again in singles matches during the second day. Alexandrova added the second point with 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 victory over Bogdan. And Kudermetova lost 5-7, 3-6 to Cristian.

The duo of two Anna's was there to send the Russians into Budapest. Blinkova & Kalinskaya faced Ruse & Cristian in doubles. The young duo managed to win the match 6-3, 6-2 and secured Russia the spot among the 12 finalists in Budapest.

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