Russia, Spain close in on final

2008-04-26 21:18

Paris - Former champions Russia and Spain moved closer to a showdown in the Fed Cup final on Saturday when both took comfortable 2-0 overnight leads in their semi-final ties.

In Moscow, Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Ahsha Rolle of the United States 6-2, 6-1 after Anna Chakvetadze gave the defending champions the first point by defeating Vania King 6-4, 7-5 on the red clay court of the Luzhniki indoor arena.

"I'm pleased with the result and my playing today," world number four Kuznetsova said. "Of course it would be much more interesting to play against America's main stars but I'm happy to win against any opponents to reach the Fed Cup final."

The United States now need to win all their rubbers on Sunday to keep their hopes alive with Kuznetsova taking on King and Chakvetadze playing Rolle in the reverse singles, which will be followed by the doubles.

In Beijing, five-time champions Spain took a commanding 2-0 lead on the opening day of their semi-final clash with two straight-sets victories over China.

Despite noisy home support, 76th-ranked Nuria Llagostera Vives beat Zheng Jie 6-3, 6-4 in one hour 43 minutes to leave the Spanish needing to win just one of the three matches on Sunday to reach the final.

Earlier, Carla Suarez Navarro beat Peng Shuai 6-3, 7-6 (7/4).

"It's positive that we're leading 2-0 but we have to focus for tomorrow," Llagostera said, noting that she had to battle against some of the line calls.

"I was feeling all the mistakes were for China, not any mistakes for me but it wasn't too bad," she said.

China, making their first ever semi-final appearance, were unable to make the most of playing on the fast hard courts of the indoor International Tennis Centre against a Spanish side noted for their preference for clay.

The tie will be decided on Sunday in the reverse singles matches and a doubles clash.

- AFP