STUTTGART, Germany — Germany and Serbia were level 1-1 after the opening singles Saturday in their Fed Cup relegation playoff.
Angelique Kerber beat Bojana Jovanovski 7-5, 6-2 to give Germany its point after Ana Ivanovic had defeated Mona Barthle 7-6 (5), 2-6, 6-2.
The reverse singles and the doubles are Sunday. The winner of the tie advances to the World Group.
Kerber, ranked No. 6 in the world, struggled against Jovanovski in the opening set despite breaking serve for a 3-2 lead. Jovanovski pulled even at 5-5 but the German then won the next two games to seal the set.
Kerber used her second match point to seal her victory after cruising through the second set.
Barthel saved three set points on Ivanovic’s serve in her debut for Germany before going down in the tiebreaker.
The German rallied in the second set and broke Ivanovic’s serve twice to level the score.
But the former No. 1 regained control in the third to lead 5-2. Barthel served to stay in the match but Ivanovic gained a match point and converted it with a powerful forehand that Barthel sent back long.
Cibulkova wins opening singles to give Slovakia 1-0 lead over Russia in Fed Cup semifinals
MOSCOW — Slovakia stunned heavily favoured Russia by jumping to a 2-0 lead after the opening singles in the Fed Cup semifinals on Saturday.
Dominika Cibulkova rallied to beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 in the opening singles and Daniela Hantuchova followed up with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Maria Kirilenko to put Slovakia one point away from advancing to the final for the first time since winning the title in 2002. Reverse singles and a doubles match are on Sunday.
“We are very close to win this tie,” Slovak captain Matej Liptak said. “But we must be ready for tomorrow. We need just one point but it will not be easy. Like today, when all matches were very open, we are facing tough matches. But we will have three opportunities to finish the tie.”
Hantuchova, who was chosen over the higher-ranked Magdalena Rybarikova to back up Cibulkova, broke Kirilenko twice in the first set and in the seventh game of the second. She sealed the win with a forehand winner on her first match point on indoor clay at Krylatskoye Ice Stadium.
“I worked really hard for coming here with a great training preparation,” Hantuchova said. “And I moved really good on the court. I think, I was able to do things that my captain told me.”
Hantuchova improved to 35-16 in the Fed Cup.
“I tried my best but they were just stronger than us today,” Kirilenko said. “I practiced with her (Hantuchova) several times this year and I can say that today she played very solid tennis and it was difficult for me to challenge her.”
Earlier, Pavlyuchenko broke decisively in the 11th game to take the first set. Cibulkova led 4-0 to comfortably win the second, and she broke in the seventh game of the decider before closing it out on her first match point when Pavlychenkova returned wide.
“I wasn’t aggresive in the first set and the real match for me started from the second set,” Cibulkova said. “I found my rhythm and served much better. I can say it was an extremely tough match.”
Pavlyuchenkova, who won her fourth career title two weeks ago at Monterrey in Mexico, said she couldn’t find her rhythm and struggled with the switch from a hard court to clay.
“It was a tough match, both physically and mentally,” Pavlyuchenkova said. “Dominika has played a very good match. After making quite a number of double faults in the first set, she improved her serve in the second set and gave me practically no chance in the third.”
Four-time champion Russia has reached the semifinal stage for the seventh consecutive year. Slovakia is in its first since 2002.
The winner will face two-time defending champion Czech Republic or Italy in the final on Nov. 2-3.
Flipkens keeps Belgian hopes alive in Fed Cup playoff, levels match at 1-1 vs Poland
KOKSIJDE, Belgium — Kirsten Flipkens kept Belgian hopes alive in the Fed Cup World Group II playoffs, beating Poland’s Ursula Radwanska 6-4, 6-3, to level the tie at 1-1 after Saturday’s opening session.
In the first match, fourth-ranked Agnieszka Radwanska swept past Alison Van Uytvanck, ranked 179 places below her, 6-2, 6-4 to confirm Poland’s status as favourite in the weekend series. But Flipkens then proved she is in the form of her life this year and held off Radwanska’s sister Urszula in two close sets.
The loser will be relegated to the third tier of the Fed Cup, the Euro-Africa continental zone, a low division which Belgium has not played in since 1995.
Four-time champion Russia has reached the semifinal stage for the seventh consecutive year. Slovakia is in its first since winning the title in 2002.
The winner will face two-time defending champion Czech Republic or Italy in the final on Nov. 2-3.
Errani beats Safarova 6-4, 6-2 to give Italy 1-0 lead over the Czech Republic in Fed Cup semis
Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci gave Italy a commanding 2-0 lead over the two-time defending champion Czech Republic in the Fed Cup semifinals Saturday.
Errani opened with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Lucie Safarova before Roberta Vinci followed up with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over eighth-ranked Petra Kvitova.
It was Vinci’s second straight-set win over Kvitova in less than a week after also beating the former Wimbledon champion in the final at Katowice, Poland, last weekend, which moved Vinci up to a career-high ranking of No. 12.
Vinci again gave Kvitova trouble with her spins and slices, setting up match point with a pinpoint drop shot which she followed forward for a volley into the open the court. Then Vinci closed out the encounter with an ace.
Kvitova struggled with her consistency, committing 52 unforced errors to Vinci’s 27.
“The emotions are much different playing here,” said Vinci, who lives in Palermo. “I have my home fans here, it’s Fed Cup and I’m playing for Italy. It feels very different from a normal tournament.”
Earlier, Errani’s steadiness proved the key as she committed only 16 unforced errors to the 25th-ranked Safarova’s 27.
Neither player could hold serve until Errani finally took control for a 4-2 lead in the first set, and the Italian cruised from there.
“It was very tense and it wasn’t easy against a lefty,” Errani said.
After Saturday’s reverse singles on the red clay at the Palermo tennis club, Flavia Pennetta and Francesca Schiavone are scheduled to face Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka in doubles.
However, if the best-of-five series goes down to the doubles, Italy captain Corrado Barazzutti also has the option of playing Errani and Vinci, the top-ranked pairing on the WTA Tour.
“Being up 2-0 we can sleep a little better tonight,” Vinci said. “It’s not over yet but it’s better to be up 2-0.
It’s the fifth straight semifinal for Italy, which won the title in 2006, 2009 and 2010.
The Czechs beat Italy 4-1 at this stage last year in Ostrava.
In the other semifinal, Russia is hosting Slovakia in Moscow.
Carla Suarez beats Misaki Doi to give Spain 1-0 lead over Japan in Fed Cup World Group playoff
BARCELONA, Spain — Carla Suarez beat Misaki Doi 6-3, 6-4, to give Spain a 1-0 lead over Japan in the Fed Cup World Group playoffs on Saturday.
Suarez settled down after a shaky start and won the first set with relative ease on the outdoor clay court at Real Club de Polo tennis club.
Spain’s top-ranked player broke in the first game of the second set before jumping out to a 4-1 lead. Doi hit back to level at 4-4 but then hit her ninth double fault to drop serve, allowing Suarez to wrap up the match in the next game when the Japanese netted her return.
Spain’s Silvia Soler plays Ayumi Morita in Saturday’s second singles match.
Reverse singles and doubles will be played Sunday.
