The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Spain and Russia take opening day leads

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Spain and Russia take opening day leads

MOSCOW: Former champions Russia and Spain moved closer to a showdown in the Fed Cup final on Saturday when both took comfortable 2-0 overnight leads in their semifinal ties. In Moscow, Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Ahsha Rolle of the United States 6-2, 6-1 after Anna Chakvetadze gave the defending champion the first point by defeating Vania King 6-4, 7-5 on the red clay court of the Luzhniki indoor arena.

The United States now needs to win all the rubbers on Sunday to keep its hopes alive, with Kuznetsova taking on King and Chakvetadze playing Rolle in the reverse singles, which will be followed by the doubles.

In Beijing, five-time champion Spain took a commanding 2-0 lead on the opening day of the semifinal clash with two straight-sets victories over China.

The results: At Beijing: China 0 Spain 2 (Peng Shuai lost to Carla Suarez Navarro 6-3, 7-6(4); Jie Zheng lost to Nuria Llagostera Vives 6-3, 6-4).

At Moscow: Russia 2 USA 0 (Anna Chakvetadze bt Vania King 6-4, 7-5, Svetlana Kuznetsova bt Ahsa Rolle 6-2, 6-1). — Agencies

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