The U.S. and the Russia are deadlocked at 1-1 in the Fed Cup semifinals after Melanie Oudin avenged her Australian Open defeat to Alla Kudryavtseva by besting the Russian 6-3, 6-3 in the opening rubber, and Elena Dementieva evened the tie with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
“I knew I really needed to try to beat Alla today because Elena is going to be really tough tomorrow,” Oudin said. “This is the first time I’ve ever played the first match in Fed Cup. So I liked it better, I think.”
Oudin upset Dementieva at the 2009 US Open but the veteran recently got the better of her at the Paris Indoors. “I expect a tough match against Melanie,” Dementieva said: “I think this kind of court [indoor hard] suits her game. Physically she looks pretty fit, pretty good at this match against Alla. Tomorrow I will be aggressive from the beginning, try not to go to long rallies because I know she feels very comfortable at the baseline.”
Russian captain Shamil Tarpischev may substitute Ekaterina Makarova for Kudryavtseva. Dementieva is also scheduled to play doubles with Makarova if the tie goes to a fifth rubber.-M.C.