The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Spain to meet Russia in final

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Spain to meet Russia in final

BEIJING: Spain booked its place in the Fed Cup tennis final on Sunday after completing a 4-1 win over host China.

Nuria Llagostera Vives beat China’s Peng Shuai 6-4, 6-4, giving the five-time champion an unassailable 3-0 lead at the Beijing International Tennis Centre.

Then, Jie Zheng pulled one back for China beating Carla Suarez-Navarro 7-6(5),6-3. But, Spain finished the tie on a high winning the doubles.

Spain will take on Russia which leads the United States 3-1 in Moscow.

Sealing it

Vera Zvonareva beat Vania King 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the first reverse singles on Sunday to give Russia an insurmountable 3-0 lead.

Then, Ahsa Rolle prevented a whitewash, beating Elena Vesnina 6-3, 6-4.

Russia will appear in its fourth final in the last five years in September.

The 115th-ranked King stunned Zvonareva, a late addition to Russia’s line-up, by winning the first set after breaking the world No. 14 in the ninth game.

But the Russian, who replaced world No. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova for the match, returned the favour in the sixth game of the second set to level the match before breaking the American twice more in the third to run out a winner.

The results: At Beijing: China 1 Spain 4 ( Shuai Peng lost to Nuria Llagostera Vives 6-4, 6-4; Jie Zheng bt Carla Suarez-Navarro 7-6(5), 6-3; Shuai Peng & Tian-Tian Sun lost to Nuria Llagostera Vives & Maria-Jose Martinez Sanchez 6-2, 6-1 ).

At Moscow: Russia 3 U.S. 1 ( Vera Zvonareva bt Vania King 4-6,6-3,6-2; Elena Vesnina lost to Ahsa Rolle 6-3, 6-4 ). — Agencies

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