WTA Sep 15-16 2007 Fed Cup Fed Cup Final: Live Scores - in popup window Russia d Italy 4-0 Luzhniki Small Sports Arena Moscow, Russia photo-map: Luzhniki Sports Complex Stadium Capacity: 6500 15 September - 16 September 2007 Day 1: 1400 hrs (1000 hrs GMT) Day 2: 1300 hrs (0900 hrs GMT) Surface: - Indoor: RuKortHard Ball: Wilson US Open Regular Duty brackets & results - news pics: Yahoo! - Fed Cup gallery mp3 audio: interviews - Radio Player

Other Fed Cup pages: 2006 - 2005 - 2004 - 2003 previous other tourney pages next Moscow: Anna Chakvetadze, Elena Vesnina, Svetlana Kuznetsova & Nadia Petrova 3rd Russki Fed Cup title in 4 years

    On Sunday in Moscow, in the 3rd "rubber" of the 2007 Fed Cup final "tie" between 2004 & 2005 champions Russia and 2006 champs Italy, 22-year-old # 2 Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia (residence: Monte Carlo, Monaco), edged out 27-year-old # 25 Francesca Schiavone of Italy (residence: London, England), 4-6, 7-6(7), 7-5, giving the Russian team an insurmountable 3-0 lead in the best of 5 series (All 4 Russian team members are shown celebrating after Sveta clinched the title).

    Svetlana said: "I didn’t play as well as Saturday but I could pull it out because of my strong will. I had a problem with my abdominals, I couldn’t serve 100% as I didn’t want to make it worse. [Francesca] caused me many problems, forcing me to play much longer rallies." ITF story

    Francesca held two match points during the 2nd set tiebreaker, and took a 4-1 lead in the 3rd set before Svetlana recovered to win the match. Francesca said: "I served worse at 4-1, there was a lot of pressure from Svetlana. She played those points very well and it was very close afterwards."

    Also on Sunday, in the academic 4th "rubber" of the "tie", 21-year-old # 59 Elena Vesnina from Sochi, Russia, defeated 26-year-old # 34 Mara Santangelo from Cavalese, Italy, 6-2, 6-4, making the final score 4-0 (the doubles was not played, as is often the case in decided Fed Cup meetings; the players have places to go, things to do...).

Sep 16, day 2 audio interviews:
Svetlana Kuznetsova d Francesca Schiavone - Elena Vesnina d Mara Santangelo

Sep 15, day 1 audio interviews:
Anna Chakvetadze d Francesca Schiavone - Svetlana Kuznetsova d Mara Santangelo

Sep 14, draw day audio interviews:
Anna Chakvetadze - Svetlana Kuznetsova - Nadia Petrova & Elena Vesnina - Francesca Schiavone - Mara Santangelo

WTA SCOREBOARD: 2007 Fed Cup Final: #=rank, *=upset, d=doubles rank ranks are for the current week On Friday, September 14, 2007 in Moscow, Maria Sharapova, Anna Chakvetadze, and Elena Vesnina were photographed at the Italian Embassy... at the Fed Cup draw ceremony on Friday, both teams lined up for photos with with the Cup: Russian Captain Shamil Tarpischev with team members Elena Vesnina, Anna Chakvetadze, Nadia Petrova, & Svetlana Kuznetsova, and Italian team members Roberta Vinci, Mara Santangelo, Flavia Pennetta, and Francesca Schiavone with Captain Corrado Barazzutti... row 2: Maria, in Moscow as practice partner for the Russkis, looked on while day one matchups Anna & Francesca and Svetlana & Mara, and doubles teams Elena & Nadia and Roberta & Mara, were photographed with the Cup (Maria, whose right shoulder has not fully healed, was happy to travel to Moscow to train with & cheer for her compatriots, and grab one of those sharp-looking windbreakers...)

Russia d Italy 4-0     Luzhniki Small Sports Arena, Moscow, Russia indoor: RuKortHard Saturday, Sep 15, 2007 1000 GMT 1 #5 Anna Chakvetadze RUS d #25 Francesca Schiavone ITA 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 Anna firing a cannonball serve, Francesca fielding an overhead, Anna's running backhand, and after winning a point     Francesca won the first three games of the third set. Anna said: "When I was 0-3 down in the third set I thought oh my god, we could be 1-0 down to Italy and this is going to be tough for Sveta [Svetlana Kuznetsova]... There was no point talking about tactics at this stage, so [Russian Captain Shamil Tarpischev] was trying to calm me down and help me to be more positive and relaxed." ITF story 2 #2 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #34 Mara Santangelo ITA 6-1, 6-2 Mara twisting a serve Svetlanaward, Svetlana driving a backhand, and teammate Nadia Petrova congratulating Sveta while teammate Elena Vesnina and practice partner Maria Sharapova applaud     Svetlana said: "That was not easy today, and is a big plus for me. I played well on certain points and I’m in good shape at the moment. I was really ready for this and I always give my opponents as less chance as possible." ITF story     Mara said: "I was always under pressure, and [Svetlana] played very very good today. She was just far too good for me today." Sunday, Sep 16, 2007 0900 GMT: ITF story 3 #2 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #25 Francesca Schiavone ITA 4-6, 7-6(7), 7-5 Svetlana following a backhand, Francesca driving a forehand, Svetlana fielding a drop shot, and after match point 4 #59 Elena Vesnina RUS d #34 Mara Santangelo ITA 6-2, 6-4 No photos of this match were found... Elena is shown with practice partner Maria Sharapova cheering on Svetlana Kuznetsova, and showing Maria her keeper replica Fed Cup trophy after the awards ceremony 5 doubles cancelled Russia: #2 d37 Svetlana Kuznetsova #5 d70 Anna Chakvetadze #8 d45 Nadia Petrova #59 d33 Elena Vesnina Captain: Shamil Tarpishev practice partner: #4 Maria Sharapova Italy: #25 d21 Francesca Schiavone #34 d5 Mara Santangelo #51 d40 Roberta Vinci #69 d42 Flavia Pennetta Captain: Corrado Barazzutti

    (Sep 8, 2007) # 2 Maria Sharapova will travel to Moscow to cheer for the Russian team in the Fed Cup final, and to act as a practice partner.
    Maria said: "I was pleasantly surprised to receive a phone call from our captain (Shamil Tarpischev), asking me if I would like to play in the finals.
    "Unfortunately he called me the day I was visiting a doctor in Toronto, who said the best way to get rid of that 20% nagging shoulder pain that I have left is if I don't put any impinging overhead pressure on it for the next three weeks, which basically means I can't hit anything over my head.
    "The good news is that I can start hitting this week without any problems... and the least I could do is fly over there and be their practice partner for the week and cheer them on from the stands."

    (Sep 1, 2007) Hawk-Eye electronic line calling will be utilized for the first time in Fed Cup play at the 2007 final in Moscow.

    (Jul 15, 2007) 2006 Fed Cup champions Italy will travel to Russia for the Fed Cup final September 15-16 (the weekend following the US Open). It will be very tough for the Italians; the 2004 and 2005 champion Russkis, who won their semi despite the absence of injured # 2 Maria Sharapova and # 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova (without calling on # 14 Dinara Safina, # 15 Elena Dementieva, # 21 Vera Zvonareva, # 34 Olga Poutchkova, or # 43 Maria Kirilenko) have one of the deepest teams ever in Fed Cup play.

Fed Cup Rules Overview     Fed Cup "ties" consist of 5 matches ("rubbers"), 4 singles and 1 doubles. Each country's # 1 singles player plays the other country's # 2 singles player the first day (the order of play decided by lot), and on the 2nd day they swap and the # 1s play each other, followed by the # 2s, followed by the doubles match. The teams are run by non-playing "captains" who are usually highly-regarded coaches and/or former players. The 3rd and 4th players on each team, at the captain's discretion, might not play at all, or might play doubles, or might substitute for an injured or struggling # 1 or # 2 player.     Only teams in World Group are playing for the Cup itself. Teams in World Group II are playing to get into the World Group (formerly known as World Group I) next year; teams in "Zonal Groups" are playing to get into World Group II next year.     Fed Cup rules state that player changes for the day's opening singles match must be made by the captains with the referee one hour prior to the start of play. Player changes for the second match of the day must be made by ten minutes after the conclusion of the first match. On Sunday, changes in the doubles line-up can be made up to 15 minutes after the end of the second singles match.

Fed Cup Structure Overview     89 nations are competing in Fed Cup play at 3 levels. 2005 was the first year that the Fed Cup used a a 3-tiered system similar to the Davis Cup system. 8 teams compete at the top level, called World Group (formerly called World Group I), and 8 more teams at the 2nd level, called World Group II. The remaining 73 teams are placed in Zonal Groups I, II, and III. Only the 8 teams in World Group are competing to win the Fed Cup in any given year; the teams in the lower 2 levels are competing to move up into World Group.     The 4 1st round (quarterfinal) winners in World Group each year will remain in World Group the following year. From this year on the 4 1st round losers in World Group will play off against the 4 winners from World Group II to determine the other 4 entries in World Group for the following year; the 4 losers of these playoffs are in World Group II the following year. Similarly, the 4 losers from World Group II each year will playoff against 4 Zonal Group winners to determine the other 4 members of World Group II the following year.     All these playoffs are held at the same time as the World Group semifinals, which are the weekend following Wimbledon.     So, essentially the teams play their 1st "tie" to try to advance, and if they lose, they play a 2nd "tie" which they must win to avoid being demoted. full explanation of Fed Cup structure     The 2007 Fed Cup World Group (the teams actually playing for the Cup) will consist of Belgium, Italy, USA, Spain, Russia, France, Japan, and China.     The 2007 Fed Cup World Group II (teams playing to get into the 2008 World Group) will consist of Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, Croatia, Slovak Republic, Australia, Israel, and Canada.     The remaining 73 nations playing Fed Cup tennis will play in "Zonal Groups" in 2007, trying to get into World Group II in the future.     There are three Zonal Groups, which also have levels, called groups, that the teams must work their way up through. The Europe/Africa Zone has 3 levels, while the Americas Zone and the Asia/Oceania Zone each have 2 levels.     Thus a team playing in Group III of the Europe/Africa Zone is trying to get into E/A Group II next year, E/A Group I the following year, World Group II the year after that, then to get into World Group I, and then, if they kept winning each year, can play in World Group I for the Fed Cup.

WTA Jul 14-15 2007 Fed Cup Fed Cup World Group SFs: Live Scores - in popup window Russia 3 at USA 2   Stowe, VT France 2 at Italy 3   Castellaneta Marina, ITA World Group Playoffs: Live Scores - in popup window Israel 4 at Austria 1 China 4 at Belgium 1 Germany 3 at Japan 2 Czech Republic 1 at Spain 4 World Group II Playoffs: Ukraine 4 at Australia 1 Canada 1 at Argentina 4 Chinese Taipei 2 at Croatia 3 Serbia 1 at Slovakia 4 brackets & results - news pics: Yahoo! - Fed Cup gallery new link mp3 audio: interviews - "Radio Player" Vermont weather radar - Stowe forecast Castellaneta, Italy forecast

Other Fed Cup pages: 2006 - 2005 - 2004 - 2003 previous other tourney pages next Castellaneta Marina: #31 Francesca Schiavone 5' 5½" 141 lb, RH, 1H-BH Stowe: #9 Nadia Petrova 5' 10¼" 143 lb, RH, 2H-BH

    On Sunday in Stowe, Vermont, in the fifth and final (doubles) "rubber" of the Russia at USA Fed Cup semifinal "tie," 25 year old # 9 Nadia Petrova from Moscow, Russia, and her partner, 20 year old # 58 Elena Vesnina from Sochi, Russia, won the semi for the Russkis by defeating 27 year old # 17 Venus Williams from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and the current # 2 player in doubles, 33 year old Lisa Raymond from Wayne, Pennsylvania, 7-5, 7-6(1) (Nadia is shown during her singles victory on Sunday).
    Earlier in the day, in the rain-delayed third "rubber," Venus, one week after winning Wimbledon, handily defeated # 8 Anna Chakvetadze, 6-1, 6-4, giving the USA a 2-1 lead. But in the following match Nadia, who had come close to defeating Venus on Saturday, crushed, killed and destroyed # 41 Meilen Tu 6-1, 6-2, evening the score before the deciding doubles.

    Elena hit three winners and an ace during the tiebreaker. Elena said: "It's one of the best moments in my life. I was so nervous before the match. It was so important match for me, for my country. Nadia, she just helped me. She was so confidence. Our team was so confidence also. So this match was just unbelievable, just incredible." postmatch team interview

    Nadia said: "I was very disappointed after losing to Venus [on Saturday], when I had everything in my hands and then I broke down, I couldn't handle the nerves and the pressure... Today I got to do everything, get it back to my team, make it up to them. I did it today. It just feels great. It feels fantastic." all Russia v USA Fed Cup interviews

    Likewise on Sunday, at Castellaneta Marina, Italy, the score was 2-2 going into the doubles "rubber" of the France at Italy Fed Cup semifinal "tie." 27 year old # 31 Francesca Schiavone from Milan, Italy, and her partner, 24 year old # 44 Roberta Vinci from Taranto, Italy, won the semi for Italia by defeating 28 year old # 52 Nathalie Dechy of France (residence: Tournai, Belgium), and 27 year old # 63 Severine Bremond from Vitrolles, France, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 (Francesca is also shown during her singles victory on Sunday).
    Earlier in the day, in the third "rubber," # 6 Amelie Mauresmo defeated # 27 Mara Santangelo, 6(5)-7, 6-0, 6-4, giving France a 2-1 lead. But in the following match Francesca, who had defeated Amelie on Saturday, narrowly defeated # 19 Tatiana Golovin 6-4, 2-6, 7-5, leveling the score before the deciding doubles. Francesca won all three of her matches for Italy this weekend, as much as one person can do in Fed Cup play.

  MP3 Audio Interview Clips

Day 2, Sunday, July 15:
Venus Williams USA d Anna Chakvetadze - Nadia Petrova RUS d Meilen Tu
E Vesnina & N Petrova RUS d V Williams & L Raymond
Francesca Schiavone ITA - Amelie Mauresmo FRA

Day 1, Saturday, July 14:
Anna Chakvetadze RUS d Vania King USA - Venus Williams USA d Nadia Petrova RUS
Tatiana Golovin ITA

Draw Day, Friday, July 13:
Venus Williams USA - Vania King USA - Zina Garrison US Capt. - Anna Chakvetadze RUS - Nadia Petrova RUS

WTA SCOREBOARD: Fed Cup World Group 1 Semifinals: #=rank, *=upset, d=doubles rank ranks are for the current week

Russia 3 at USA 2     Stadium at Topnotch, Stowe, VT outdoor: hard stats, .pdf Saturday, Jul 14, 2007 1730 GMT ITF story 1 #8 Anna Chakvetadze RUS d #84 Vania King USA 6-1, 6-3 An aerial view of the stadium at the Topnotch Resort, Anna driving a forehand, and Vania's backhand drive 2 *#17 Venus Williams USA d #9 Nadia Petrova RUS 7-6(6), 0-6, 6-4 Venus following a forehand, Nadia running one down, Venus approaching the net Lenglen style, and after match point Sunday, Jul 15, 2007 1630 GMT rain delayed play: ITF story 3 *#17 Venus Williams USA d #8 Anna Chakvetadze RUS 6-1, 6-4 Venus following a forehand, Anna driving a backhand, and Venus after match point 4 #9 Nadia Petrova RUS d #41 Meilen Tu USA 6-1, 6-2 Meilen and Nadia driving backhand, and Nadia after match point 5 d26 Nadia Petrova & d29 Elena Vesnina RUS d d2 Lisa Raymond & dNR Venus Williams USA 7-5, 7-6(1) Nadia volleying a backhand as Elena looks on, and Elena & Nadia after the victory Russia: #8 d95 Anna Chakvetadze #9 d26 Nadia Petrova #58 d29 Elena Vesnina #66 d74 Alla Kudryavtseva replaced #4 d41 Svetlana Kuznetsova, shoulder injury Captain: Shamil Tarpishev United States: #17 dNR Venus Williams #41 d37 Meilen Tu #84 d31 Vania King #495 d2 Lisa Raymond Captain: Zina Garrison

France 2 at Italy 3     Nova Yardinia, Castellaneta Marina outdoor: red clay stats, .pdf Saturday, Jul 14, 2007 1300 GMT ITF story 1 #19 Tatiana Golovin FRA d #26 Tathiana Garbin ITA 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 Tatiana lining up a backhand, Tathiana driving a forehand, and Tatiana's backhand drive 2 *#31 Francesca Schiavone ITA d #6 Amelie Mauresmo FRA 7-5, 6-3 Amelie's forehand drive, Francesca following a backhand, and after match point Sunday, Jul 15, 2007 1000 GMT: ITF story 3 #6 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #27 Mara Santangelo ITA 6(5)-7, 6-0, 6-4 Amelie volleying a backhand, and Mara driving one 4 *#31 Francesca Schiavone ITA d #19 Tatiana Golovin FRA 6-4, 2-6, 7-5 Tatiana and Francesca driving forehands 5 d16 Francesca Schiavone & d44 Roberta Vinci ITA v #52 Nathalie Dechy & #63 Severine Bremond FRA 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 Francesca fielding a forehand as Roberta looks on, and Francesca, and both Fresca & Roberta, after match point Italy: #26 d39 Tathiana Garbin #27 d6 Mara Santangelo #31 d16 Francesca Schiavone #44 d44 Roberta Vinci Captain: Corrado Barazzutti France: #6 d225 Amelie Mauresmo #19 d125 Tatiana Golovin #52 d15 Nathalie Dechy #63 d87 Severine Bremond Captain: Georges Goven

World Group and World Group II Playoffs, Saturday: Shahar Peer of Israel driving a forehand while defeating Tamira Paszek of Austria in Linz; Jelena Jankovic of Serbia driving a backhand while defeating Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia in Kosice... Ayumi Morita of Japan driving a forehand while defeating Angelique Kerber of Germany in Toyota; also in Toyota, Tatjana Malek of Germany driving a backhand while defeating Japan's Erika Takao World Group Playoffs, Sunday: Shahar Peer & Tzipora Obziler of Israel after winning a point while defeating Tamira Paszek & Melanie Klaffner in Linz, Austria; Tiantian Sun of China after defeating Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium in Knokke; Lourdes Dominguez Lino and Anabel Medina Garrigues after Spain defeated the Czech Republic in Girona; and Tatjana Malek of Germany following her serve while defeating Ayumi Morita of Japan in Toyota

    (Jul 12, 2007) # 7 Serena Williams has withdrawn from the July 14-15 US vs Russia Fed Cup semifinal, and from next week's Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open in Mason (Cincinnati), Ohio, due to a left hand injury she incurred at Wimbledon. Serena sprained her left thumb during her 4th round victory over Daniela Hantuchova on July 4. # 41 Meilen Tu has replaced Serena on the US Fed Cup roster. AP story

    (Jul 12, 2007) Russian Fed Cup captain Shamil Tarpischev has finally been granted a visa to enter the US for the July 14-15 Fed Cup semifinal... Tarpischev, who is also a member of the International Olympic Committee and president of the Russian Tennis Federation, said: "I will only arrive in Vermont on Friday morning and will have less than 24 hours to prepare my team for the matches... The rules of the International Tennis Federation stipulate that a host country must give visas to all official members of the visiting team at least five days prior to the tie. In my case [U.S. authorities] have broken all norms of international fair play... Only after the intervention of our foreign ministry, the International Olympic Committee, the U.S. Olympic Committee, the ITF and the U.S. Tennis Federation they finally issued my visa." Reuters story

    (Jul 10, 2007) The ITF has published a summary of some previous Russia vs USA Fed Cup encounters...Fed Cup story

    (Jul 9, 2007) Due to a lingering right shoulder injury, # 2 Maria Sharapova has withdrawn from the Fed Cup semifinals July 14-15. The USA is hosting Russia at Stowe, Vermont. On her official website, Maria said: "I still have a tremendous amount of swelling in the area." Doctors have told Maria to rest for 10 days.
    # 58 Elena Vesnina will replace Maria on Team Russia. Elena's teammates are slated to be Svetlana Kuznetsova, Anna Chakvetadze, and Nadia Petrova, but Sporting Life reports that Svetlana also has a shoulder problem and that Russian captain Shamil Tarpischev says Svetlana is "a long shot" to play.
    The Team USA roster: Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Vania King, and Lisa Raymond. Complete Fed Cup team nominations for July 14-15

    (Apr 25, 2007) In the Fed Cup semifinals July 14-15, the weekend following Wimbledon, 2006 Fed Cup champions Italy, who defeated China 5-0, will host 2003 champs France. In the other semifinal, 2004 & 2005 Fed Cup champions Russia will play at the USA.
    In the World Group I Play-offs on July 14-15, 2007, the World Group I 1st round losers and the World Group II 1st round winners will play; teams winning these "ties" will be in WGI in 2008, teams losing will be in WGII next year. Based on ITF national rankings, Spain, Japan, Austria and Belgium have been seeded, and will be matched up against unseeded Czech Republic, Germany, China, & Israel.
    In the World Group II Play-offs on July 14-15, 2007, the World Group II 1st round losers and the Zonal Group 1st round winners will play; teams winning these "ties" will be in WGII in 2008, teams losing will be in Zonal Groups next year. Based on ITF national rankings, Slovakia, Australia, Croatia & Canada have been seeded, and will be matched up against unseeded Serbia, Ukraine, Argentina & Taiwan.
    The draws for the World Group I and World Group II Play-offs took place on Wednesday, April 25, at the ITF offices in London at 10:00 GMT.

WTA Apr 21-22 2007 Fed Cup Fed Cup World Group QFs (Round 1): Live Scores - in popup window Belgium 0 at USA 5 Spain 0 at Russia 5     Japan 0 at France 5 China 0 at Italy 5 World Group II Playoffs: Live Scores - in popup window Czech Rep 5 at Slovakia 0 Croatia 1 at Germany 4 Israel 3 at Canada 2 Australia 1 at Austria 4 ZGs: Asia/Oceania - Americas - Europe/Africa brackets & results - news pics: Yahoo! - Fed Cup gallery link fixed mp3 audio: interviews - "Radio Player" Florida weather radar - Delray Beach forecast Castellaneta, Italy forecast SW Germany weather radar - Fürth forecast Slovakia weather radar - Bratislava forecast

Other Fed Cup pages: 2006 - 2005 - 2004 - 2003 previous other tourney pages next Limoges: #18 Tatiana Golovin 5' 9", 132 lbs, RH 2H-BH Moscow: #5 Svetlana Kuznetsova 5' 8½", 161 lbs, RH, 2H-BH

    Skunk Day: On Sunday at Limoges, France, the final day of World Group I round 1 (quarterfinal) play for the 2007 Fed Cup, 19-year-old # 18 Tatiana Golovin of France (residence: on Brickell Key, Miami, Florida), clinched the victory for France by defeating 31-year-old # 27 Ai Sugiyama Kanagawa, Japan, 7-6(3), 6-0 (Tatiana is shown after match point with her teammates Virginie Razzano, Nathalie Dechy, and Severine Bremond).
    Tatiana's victory put France ahead 3-0 in the best of 5; later in the day # 58 Virginie Razzano defeated # 55 Akiko Morigami, and, in doubles, Nathalie Dechy & Severine Bremond defeated Ai Sugiyama & Ayumi Morita, as France defeated Japan 5-0. ITF story

    Meanwhile in Moscow, Russia, 21-year-old # 5 Svetlana Kuznetsova (residence: Barcelona, Spain) also clinched her "tie" in the third "rubber" (perhaps they should call them tires instead of ties, it would be less likely to cause confusion) by defeating 24-year-old # 29 Anabel Medina Garrigues from Valencia, Spain, 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 (photo shown).
    Sveta's victory put Russia ahead 3-0. Later in the day # 11 Anna Chakvetadze defeated # 421 Nuria Llagostera Vives (Nuria spent much of the last year injured, or her rank would be in the top 50), and, in doubles, Elena Vesnina & Nadia Petrova defeated Laura Pous Tio & Lourdes Dominguez Lino, as Russia defeated Spain 5-0. ITF story

April 21 Zonal Group Finals:

Serbia d Romania 2-1 Ukraine d Poland 2-1

Argentina d Brazil 2-0 Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) d Thailand 3-0

    # 12 Serena Williams of the USA withdrew from her Sunday Fed Cup match against Belgian Kirsten Flipkens due to right knee inflammation. Serena's knee was examined by Fed Cup physician Jennifer Solomon, who advised her to not play. This injury is reportedly to the right knee, not the left knee, on which Serena had surgery in 2003, and which troubled her for quite some time afterward.
    # 83 Vania King replaced Serena for the match against Kirsten. AP story

  MP3 Audio Interview Clips

Day 2, Sunday, April 22:
Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP - Tatiana Golovin FRA d Ai Sugiyama JPN

Day 1, Saturday, April 21: Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario ESP
Nadia Petrova RUS d Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP - Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d Lourdes Dominguez-Lino ESP

Nathalie Dechy FRA d Ai Sugiyama JPN - Tatiana Golovin FRA d Akiko Morigami JPN

Flavia Pennetta ITA d Shuai Peng CHN - Tathiana Garbin ITA d Tiantian Sun CHN

Venus Williams USA d Kirsten Flipkens BEL

Draw Day, Friday, April 20:
Serena Williams USA - Kirsten Flipkens BEL - Ai Sugiyama JPN - Tatiana Golovin FRA - Nathalie Dechy FRA

WTA SCOREBOARD: Fed Cup World Group 1 Round 1 (Quarterfinals): #=rank, *=upset, d=doubles rank ranks are for the current week

Belgium 0 at USA 5     Delray Beach Tennis Center, Delray Beach, USA outdoor: hard (Plexipave) stats, .pdf Saturday, Apr 21, 2007 1830 GMT ITF story 1 #22 Venus Williams USA d #132 Kirsten Flipkens BEL 7-5, 6-2 Kirsten and Venus volleying backhands 2 #12 Serena Williams USA d #227 Caroline Maes BEL 6-1, 6-4 Carolina driving a forehand, Serena's backhand, and after winning a point Sunday, Apr 22, 2007 1830 GMT: ITF story 3 #83 Vania King USA d #132 Kirsten Flipkens BEL 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 Kirsten and Vania keeping focused while belting backhands 4 #22 Venus Williams USA d #422 Yanina Wickmayer 6-1, 6-2 5 d1 Lisa Raymond & d27 Vania King USA d d209 Caroline Maes & dNR Tamaryn Hendler BEL 6-1, 6-2 United States: #12 dNR Serena Williams #22 dNR Venus Williams #83 d27 Vania King #243 d1 Lisa Raymond Captain: Zina Garrison Belgium: #132 dNR Kirsten Flipkens #227 d209 Caroline Maes #422 d216 Yanina Wickmayer #NR dNR Tamaryn Hendler Captain: Sabine Appelmans Vania, Lisa, Venus, Serena, & Cap'n Garrison, Cap'n Applemans, Kirsten, Caroline, Yanina, & Tamaryn

Spain 0 at Russia 5     Small Sports Arena 'Luzhniki', Moscow, Russia indoor: red clay stats, .pdf Saturday, Apr 21, 2007 1000 GMT ITF story 1 #9 Nadia Petrova RUS d #29 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP 6-3, 6-4 Anabel and Nadia belting backhands     Anabel led 2-0 in the 1st set, and 3-0 in the 2nd set. Nadia said: "It’s been a while since I played team competition and I completely forgot what it is like to deal with that pressure. I wanted to win so much that I made life difficult for myself... Experience got me through. I knew I was the better player. It’s a big relief." 2 #5 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #66 Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP 6-3, 6-2 Lourdes serving, and Sveta's backhand drive Sunday, Apr 22, 2007 0900 GMT: ITF story 3 #5 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #29 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 Anabel serving, and Sveta fielding a low backhand, and Nadia and Elena congratulating Svetlana after she clinched the win for Russia 4 #11 Anna Chakvetadze RUS d #421 Nuria Llagostera Vives ESP 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-2 Nuria, apparently dismayed after losing a point, and Anna delivering a backhand 5 d31 Elena Vesnina & d34 Nadia Petrova RUS d d430 Laura Pous Tio & d74 Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 Elena volleying a forehand as Nadia looks on Russia: #5 d43 Svetlana Kuznetsova #9 d34 Nadia Petrova #11 d80 Anna Chakvetadze #70 d31 Elena Vesnina Captain: Shamil Tarpishev Cap'n Tarpishev, Svetlana, Nadia, Anna, & Elena Spain: #29 d21 Anabel Medina Garrigues #66 d74 Lourdes Dominguez Lino #119 d430 Laura Pous Tio #421 dNR Nuria Llagostera Vives Captain: Miguel Margets Cap'n Margets, Lourdes, Laura, Anabel, & Nuria

Japan 0 at France 5     Palais des Sports Beaublanc, Limoges, France indoor: red clay stats, .pdf Saturday, Apr 21, 2007 1130 GMT ITF story *1 #48 Nathalie Dechy FRA d #27 Ai Sugiyama JPN 7-5, 6-1 Ai lining up a forehand drive, Nathalie following a forehhand, and after match point 2 #18 Tatiana Golovin FRA d #55 Akiko Morigami JPN 6-2, 6-4 Akiko's service toss, Tatiana following a forehand, and after match point Sunday, Apr 22, 2007 1130 GMT: ITF story 3 #18 Tatiana Golovin FRA d #27 Ai Sugiyama JPN 7-6(3), 6-0 Tatiana firing a forehhand, Ai running one down, Tatiana after match point, and Ai congratulating Tatiana *4 #58 Virginie Razzano d #55 Akiko Morigami JPN 7-6(4), 1-6, 6-2 5 d15 Nathalie Dechy & d101 Severine Bremond FRA d d13 Ai Sugiyama & d398 Ayumi Morita JPN 6-1, 6-2 France: #18 d115 Tatiana Golovin #37 d101 Severine Bremond #48 d15 Nathalie Dechy #58 d385 Virginie Razzano Captain: Georges Goven Cap'n Goven, Nathalie, Severine, Tatiana, & Virginie Japan: #27 d13 Ai Sugiyama #55 d93 Akiko Morigami #65 d276 Aiko Nakamura #186 d398 Ayumi Morita Captain: Minoru Ueda Japan's A-Team: Ayumi, Aiko, Cap'n Ueda, Ai, & Akiko

China 0 at Italy 5     Nova Yardinia, Castellaneta Marina outdoor: red clay stats, .pdf Saturday, Apr 21, 2007 1100 GMT ITF story 1 #23 Tathiana Garbin ITA d #90 Tiantian Sun CHN 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 Tathiana looking ready to slice a backhand, and Tiantian driving done     Tathiana said: "I prefer to play second and Pennetta first, but now it’s okay. I was a little bit nervous but I fight with all my heart...     "[Tiantian] served good and returned very well. She was difficult to play. I hope I am more relaxed tomorrow. It was a tough day today." *2 #46 Flavia Pennetta ITA d #32 Shuai Peng CHN 0-6, 7-5, 3-0 retired--left hamstring injury Shuai and Flavia driving backhands, Flavia after winning a point, and Shuai after injuring her hamstring     Flavia was born in nearby Brindisi. Flavia said: "I was so nervous. I was playing at home, my first time in Italy, and I didn’t want to make any mistakes. [Shuai] starts so good without any mistakes. I am so happy now because I am starting to play my game again." Sunday, Apr 22, 2007 0900 GMT: ITF story 3 #23 Tathiana Garbin ITA d #212 Shuai Zhang 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 Tathiana launching a backhand 4 #31 Mara Santangelo ITA d #90 Tiantian Sun CHN 6-4, 6-2 5 d28 Mara Santangelo & d63 Roberta Vinci ITA d d29 Tiantian Sun & d69 Shengnan Sun CHN 6-2, 6-4 Roberta and Mara after winning a point Italy: #23 d72 Tathiana Garbin #31 d28 Mara Santangelo #46 d35 Flavia Pennetta #51 d63 Roberta Vinci Captain: Corrado Barazzutti 2006 champs Tathiana, Mara, Flavia, and Roberta China: #32 d62 Shuai Peng #90 d29 Tiantian Sun #212 d211 Shuai Zhang #235 d69 Shengnan Sun Captain: Qi Zhang Shuai Zhang, Sheng-Nan Sun, Shuai Peng, Tiantian Sun, & Cap'n Zhang #26 Francesca Schiavone of Italy withdrew due to a left abdominal strain

World Group II: Photos of some World Group II winners from Saturday, April 21, 2007: Lefty Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic swatting a backhand in Bratislava while defeating Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia, Lucie after match point, and Lucie's teammate Nicole Vaidisova launching a backhand while defeating Daniela's teammate Dominika Cibulkova; Jelena Kostanic Tosic of Croatia, another lefty, lining up a backhand while defeating Sandra Kloesel of Germany in Furth; Shahar Peer of Israel launching a backhand while defeating Stephanie Dubois of Canada in Kamloops, British Columbia... Also in Kamloops, Shahar's teammate Tzipora Obziler firing a forehand while defeating Aleksandra Wozniak; Sybille Bammer of Austria after defeating Australia's Alicia Molik in Dornbirn, Austria, and Sybille's teammate Tamira Paszek firing a backhand and after winning a point while defeating Alicia's teammate Samantha Stosur Photos of some winners from Sunday, April 22, 2007: Nicole Vaidisova of the Czech Republic firing a forehand in Bratislava while defeating Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia and clinching victory for the Czechs; Sybille Bammer of Austria getting carried away after defeating Samantha Stosur of Australia to clinch the win in Dornbirn, Austria, Sybille's teammate Tamira Paszek after defeating Samantha's teammate Alicia Molik; Tatjana Malek of Germany after defeating Ivana Lisjak of Croatia in Furth, clinching the win for Germany

    (Apr 3, 2007) # 2 Maria Sharapova will be sidelined for 5 to 6 weeks due to right shoulder and left hamstring injuries. Maria has withdrawn from next week's Family Circle Cup in Charleston, and will also not be able to make her planned Fed Cup debut for Russia against Spain on April 21-22.

    In a statement on her official website, Maria said: "I haven't wanted to talk a lot about my injuries, but I'm afraid it has become obvious that I am having some problems with my right shoulder and left hamstring.
    "I hurt my shoulder right before I started playing in Hong Kong [at the Watson's Water Challenge in January], and kept hoping that I could work through it. I was told by doctors I had pretty severe inflammation, but decided to give it a shot. I think the anti-inflams and treatment helped me get through H.K and Australia. Unfortunately, my shoulder hasn't been able to be normal on its own, without the medicine.
    "My doctors have a positive outlook, despite telling me I cannot play for a while. They said I must drop out of the next two events, but they are confident that, with five or six weeks of rest, I will be ready for the next events.
    "I am especially bummed about the Fed Cup, as I was looking forward to playing in Moscow, and representing my country in a team environment for the first time. I will be speaking with the Russian Federation soon about future matches. The Family Circle Cup is always a great event, and a tournament I look forward to competing in again.
    "It's difficult for me to take time off from tennis, but the first thing is my health and that's something that I have made a big priority in my career. I can only look forward to getting back on the court ASAP. Thanks, as always, for your support."

    (Oct 4, 2006) # 3 Maria Sharapova has announced on her official website that she will play for Russia in the 1st round of Fed Cup competition next year. Spain will play Russia in Moscow in the 1st (quarterfinal) round of World Group play, April 22-23. It will be Maria's first participation in Fed Cup play.
    Maria's compatriot Elena Dementieva said: "If [Maria] plays it's going to be very helpful for the team. She's a very strong player and we have a lot of chances to win if she's playing." Reuters story
    Maria's father Yuri is boisterous at matches to a point that many people find offensive and distracting. But, Elena said: "I don't see any problems with her father. He's an emotional guy but it is nothing to do with his daughter. Maria is a nice girl and I don't see any problems."

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