Fed Cup Tennis: Luxembourg and Norway win promotion in Ulcinj

Luxembourg and Norway both eased to comfortable wins against Moldova and FYR Macedonia respectively, earning both the right to compete in Fed Cup by BNP Paribas Europe/Africa Zone Group II next year.

Both promotion play-offs were complete by the end of the singles rubbers, with Eleonora Molinaro and Mandy Minella getting the job done for Luxembourg while Melanie Stokke and Ulrikke Eikeri were winners for Norway.

Today’s results complete an excellent week in Ulcinj for both nations: Luxembourg has lost just two rubbers all week, with Norway going one better, its only rubber dropped coming in an incredibly tight encounter with hosts Montenegro on Tuesday.

Molinaro was first on centre court for Luxembourg, and wasted no time in defeating Moldova’s Vitalia Stamat. The Luxembourg No. 2 emerged a 62 60 winner in just 55 minutes, giving her team a firm advantage.

Minella, one of the highest ranked players at this event, had to battle a little harder against Adriana Sosnovschi, but she too won handsomely, breaking on five occasions as she recorded a 63 64 victory.

Over on court 1, Stokke enjoyed a straightforward victory, beating Macedonian No. 2 Katarina Marinkovikj 61 61 in under an hour. Once again, the second rubber was a greater test, with Magdalena Stoilkovska pushing Eikeri hard, but the Norweigian eventually came through 63 64 in one hour and 47 minutes.

The results mean that Luxembourg bounce straight back to Zone Group II, having suffered relegation last year, while Norway return to the higher level after four years in Zone Group III.

As for today’s defeated teams, the Macedonians will take heart from their performance this week, having only returned to Fed Cup action last year after a 14-year-long absence. Moldova, on the other hand, will rue their best chance in recent years to escape this level of the competition.

In the four other ranking play-offs taking place today, Montenegro defeated Ireland, Armenia beat Morocco, Algeria overcame Malta, and Kosovo recorded its second ever Fed Cup win against Iceland.

Click here for more information about Europe/Africa Zone Group III.
Source: Fedcup.com