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| September 28th, 2004 | |
The ForumCanadian Wheelchair Sports AssociationWinter 1995. Issue 25: p. 21 Forumby Philip Rowe The 1995 World Team Cup was held August 7-13 in Roemond, Holland, on a red clay surface. The World Team Cup is wheelchair sport�s equivalent of the Davis Cup (Men) and the Federation Cup (women) of professional tennis. The format follows that of the Federation Cup, with all countries meeting at one venue. Each country plays two singles and one doubles match. The teams with the best records advance to the next round. Twenty nine countries were represented at the 1995 World Team Cup, with 28 teams in the men�s draw and 16 in the women�s draw. Clearly, wheelchair tennis continues to grow on an international level. Canada�s 13th seeded men�s team was composed of Paul Johnson (Victoria, BC), Philip Rowe (Aldergrove, BC) and Mario Perron (Brossard, QC). The Canadians defeated the Italians, 2-1, and advanced to the next round, where they were stopped by an extremely strong Australian team composed of the No. 2 and No. 9 seed in the world. The next opponent, Japan, forced the Canadians to split their singles matches, and out played them in the doubles. In the next round, Canada was fighting for places 13-16. Canada defeated Hungary with relative ease, 3-0, and fought hard to overcome Switzerland and capture a final placing of 13th. Team USA played brilliantly in the final match, defeating France, while Australia outplayed Austria, 2-1, and claimed third overall. Canada�s women�s team, Diane Rakiecki (Kelowna, BC) and Helene Simard (Charlesbourg, QC), both competed in the World Team for the first time in 1995. The women�s team had the advantage of having competed in the Paralympic Qualification Tournament on the same surface the day before the World Team Cup. Canada finished third in the Paralympic Qualification tournament, securing the spot of first alternates. In the first round, Canada faced the No. 3 seed, USA. They fought hard and gave a good account of themselves, even though they failed to win a set against a far stronger team. Canada�s confidence was restored with a 3-0 victory against Sweden. Canada went on to win (2-1) against both Israel and New Zealand, splitting the singles matches and triumphing in the doubles. This strong finish gave Canada an 11th place finish overall. Hometown favourites, the Netherlands, were dominant in the final, defeating France, 3-0, while Australia defeated Great Britain, 3-0, for third place. The 1996 World Team Cup will be held in Flinders Park, Melbourne, Australia, at the site of the Australian Open, February 5-20. This will be used as a preParalympic competition. CANADIAN WHEELCHAIR SPORT ASSOCIATION - NATIONAL OFFICE 1600 JAMES NAISMITH DRIVE GLOUCESTER, ON K1B 5N4 TEL: (613) 748-5685 FAX: (613) 748-5722 WEBSITE: http://www.cwsa.ca
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