Photo: Paul ZimmerPetra Kvitova (CZE)
Last year's two finalists, Russia and Czech Republic, took a big step in the same direction on Saturday as they both opened up a 2-0 lead in their respective Fed Cup by BNP Paribas World Group first round ties.
Russia, playing against an under-strength Spanish team in Moscow, lost just seven games all day. Maria Sharapova began by defeating Fed Cup debutante Silvia Soler-Espinosa 62 61, then Svetlana Kuznetsova had an equally easy win over Carla Suarez Navarro 63 61.
Czech Republic, the defending champions, had a more difficult time during their tricky clash with Germany in Stuttgart, although the end result was the same. Iveta Benesova came from behind to edge past Sabine Lisicki 26 64 62, before world No. 2 Petra Kvitova outlasted Julia Goerges 36 63 108.
The remaining World Group first round ties, which see Belgium meet Serbia in Charleroi and Italy face Ukraine in Biella, are both locked at 1-1 after day one, while there were also some intriguing match-ups in World Group II.
Click the link below to view full reports from each tie on the Fed Cup website.
World Group first round
- Russia 2-0 Spain
- Belgium 1-1 Serbia
- Italy 1-1 Ukraine
- Germany 2-0 Czech Republic
World Group II first round
- USA 2-0 Belarus
- Japan 2-0 Slovenia
- Slovak Republic 1-1 France
- Switzerland 1-1 Australia