Spain has a tough road ahead as it tries to deny Russia its second consecutive Fed Cup final.
Tennis newsSpain has a tough road ahead as it tries to deny Russia its second consecutive Fed Cup final.
The countries will clash in the best-of-five championship tie beginning Saturday, with the talented Russian squad attempting to lock up its fourth title title in five years.
Russia is a clear favorite to win on paper as the team boasts a pair of top-10 players with No. 7 Svetlana Kuznetsova and No. 9 Vera Zvonareva. Spain, meanwhile, has just one player on its roster ranked inside the top 45 – world No. 29 Anabel Medina Garrigues.
Joining Medina Garrigues in the quest to secure Spain its sixth Fed Cup title and first since 1998 is 49th-ranked Carla Suarez Navarro, No. 87 Virginia Ruano Pascal and Nuria Llagostera Vives, the world No. 94.
Though considered the underdog, the Spaniards will have the advantage of playing in front of local fans at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid and the tie will take place on red clay, a surface players from that country often thrive on.
Medina Garrigues and Ruano Pascual won the French Open doubles title earlier this year and Suarez Navarro reached the quarterfinals of the claycourt major.
No. 58 Ekaterina Makarova and 61st-ranked Elena Vesnina round out the roster for Russia, which is 4-1 all-time against Spain in Fed Cup competition.
Russia, which knocked off the United States in the semifinals, would have been an overwhelming favorite had team captain Shamil Tarpishchev had the full arsenal of talent at his disposal.
But former No. 1 Maria Sharapova is sidelined with a shoulder injury and Elena Dementieva and Dinara Safina – who won gold and silver respectively at the Olympics – are out of the mix due to scheduling conflicts.
Kuznetsova is not exactly a bad alternative as the 2004 U.S. Open champion has flirted with the world No. 1 ranking on several occasions this year. Though shes been unable to breakthrough for a title in 2008, shes played in three finals and reached a pair of semifinals, including a run to the final four at Roland Garros.
Zvonareva has been to four finals this year and it bodes well for Russia she claimed her lone championship of the season on clay in Prague.
The first pair of singles rubbers in the championship be played Saturday. The tie will conclude Sunday with the two remaining singles matches, followed by what could be a decisive doubles match.
Friday, September 12th, 2008 at 10:08 pm and is filed under Tennis news. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
