April 23, 2004
Toronto Star

Canada tops Brazil in Fed Cup

PORTO SEGURO, Brazil (CP) — Canada's Fed Cup tennis team defeated host Brazil 2-1 on Thursday to finish atop its pool and advance to Saturday's playoff round against El Salvador.

Canada still has one round-robin match to play Friday against Chile.

Rookie Aleksandra Wozniak of Blainville, Que, opened the day with a her third-straight victory, beating Carla Tiene 6-3, 6-3.

Canada's No. 1 player Marie-Eve Pelletier of Repentigny, Que., then clinched the victory with a 6-4, 6-3 decision over Maria Fernanda Alves.

In the doubles match, which had no bearing on the outcome, Tiene and Fernanda Alves stopped Stephanie Dubois of Laval, Que., and Melanie Marois of Ste-Foy, Que., 6-2, 6-2.

"Our girls played some solid tennis today, the Brazilians are tough opponents," said team captain Rene Simpson. "We're happy that we met our objective to finish first in the pool, now we've got to work on our second, which is to qualify for the World Group Playoff."

The top two teams in this weekend's playoff round advance to a World Group Playoff in July.

reprinted with permission