Photo: Golovanov/KivrinMaria Sharapova (RUS)
The schedules for this weekend's Fed Cup by BNP Paribas World Group and World Group II first round ties were decided on Friday with some intriguing matches being drawn.
Maria Sharapova will kick off Russia's campaign versus Spain in Moscow when she takes on Fed Cup debutant Silvia Soler-Espinosa, who was a last minute replacement for Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez. A strong Russian team has Svetlana Kuznetsova playing as the second singles player against Carla Suarez Navarro.
Iveta Benesova will get Czech Republic's title defence underway in their tricky away tie against Germany in Stuttgart. Benesova takes on Sabine Lisicki, before current Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova plays Julia Goerges.
Jelena Jankovic will begin Serbia's bid to win a first ever World Group tie against Belgium's Kirsten Flipkens in Charleroi, while Sara Errani has been given the nod for Italy to face Ukraine's Kateryna Bondarenko in the first rubber in Biella.
In World Group II, Christina McHale and world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka go head-to-head in the opening rubber of the tie between USA and Belarus in Worcester, MA. Serena Williams then takes on Olga Govortsova, and Venus Williams has also been named in the doubles line-up alongside veteran Liezel Huber.
Click the link below to view full reports from each tie on the Fed Cup website.
World Group first round
- Russia v Spain
- Belgium v Serbia
- Italy v Ukraine
- Germany v Czech Republic
World Group II first round
- USA v Belarus
- Japan v Slovenia
- Slovak Republic v France
- Switzerland v Australia