PALERMO,Italy: Former Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova defeated Sara Errani 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 to keep defending champions, the Czech Republic alive in their Fed Cup semi-final against Italy yesterday.
Trailing 2-0 overnight on the clay courts of Palermo, the Czechs, who were also champions in 2011, were looking at defeat before Kvitova’s heroics.
With rain having already disrupted play, the decision was then taken to complete the tie today with the eventual winners to face either Russia or Slovakia in November’s final.
Meanwhile, Maria Kirilenko kept Russia’s hopes alive in their FedCup semi-final with Slovakia yesterday as she beat Dominika Cibulkova 7-5, 6-1.
Kirilenko, who is ranked 13th in the world, made light work of an opponent she has now beaten in three of their four meetings as she triumphed in one hour 41 minutes.
“After yesterday’s failure I managed to find my tennis today and it was the key to success in the match,” Kirilenko said.
“I played clinically trying to follow the plan which we worked out together with my coaches and it paid off as I won today.”
The opponents traded breaks throughout the opening set but the 26-year-old Muscovite prevailed eventually in 1hr 4min.
Despite 23-year-old Cibulkova breaking in the first game of the second set it proved a false dawn as Kirilenko won the next six games to claim victory in the rubber. The clash between Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia and the doubles follow.
Agencies
