Wozniak earns 40th career Fed Cup win to pull Canada even with Belarus

QUEBEC CITY, Que. – Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak downed Olga Govortsova in straight sets Saturday to even Canada’s first-round tie with Belarus at 1-1 on the first day of the Fed Cup.

The Blainville, Que., native upset Belarus’s top player 6-2, 6-2. The victory came after Montreal’s Francoise Abanda lost 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 to Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the opening match.

Wozniak, who missed last year’s Fed Cup after having shoulder surgery, secured her 40th victory at the international tournament to make her the winningest player in Canadian Fed Cup history.

“My focus was to play one point at a time and compete on each one and I think I did that well,” Wozniak said. “I haven’t played a lot of matches in my comeback so I am very pleased that I was able to play at that level.”

Canada and Belarus enter Sunday needing two victories to win the best-of-five tie.

The winner will advance into a World Group playoff in April, while the loser will compete in a World Group II playoff tie to avoid relegation into the zonal groups.