The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Italy puts Russia in a spot

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Italy puts Russia in a spot

CASTELLANETA MARINA (Italy): Flavia Pennetta and Francesca Schiavone won their singles matches on Saturday to give Italy a 2-0 lead over Russia in the Fed Cup semifinals.

Pennetta beat Anna Chakvetadze 6-4, 6-0, and Schiavone rallied to defeat Svetlana Kuznetsova 1-6, 6-2, 6-3.

Pennetta broke twice in the opening set, and lost only nine points in the second to close out the match in 67 minutes. “I didn’t expect that result,” Pennetta said.

U.S.-Czech level

In Brno, Czech Republic, American rookie Alexa Glatch upset Iveta Benesova 6-1, 6-2 to help United States draw level 1-1 with the Czech Republic.

Petra Kvitova had beaten Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-3, 7-6(2) in the opening match.

Glatch, playing her first match for the U.S. team, dominated the first set and broke the 29th-ranked Benesova in the second and fourth game to take a commanding 5-0 lead.

Glatch, ranked 114th, continued her strong play and broke Benesova in the opening game of the second set, as the favoured Czech struggled throughout the match. Glatch broke again in the seventh game and clinched the win in just 56 minutes when Benesova’s return hit the net.

The results:

In Brno: Czech Republic 1 vs United States 1 (Petra Kvitova bt Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-3, 7-6(2); Iveta Benesova lost to Alexa Glatch 6-1, 6-2).

In Castellanta Marina: Italy 2 vs Russia 0 (Francesca Schiavone bt Svetlana Kuznetsova 1-6, 6-2, 6-3; Flavia Pennetta bt Anna Chakvetadze 6-4, 6-0). — Agencies

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