Krakow, Poland (SportsNetwork.com) – Maria Sharapova defeated Poland’s
Agnieszka Radwanska in Sunday’s opening match to book Russia’s spot in the
Fed Cup semifinals.
The five-time Grand Slam champion Sharapova beat Radwanska by a 6-1, 7-5
margin to give Russia an insurmountable 3-0 lead in the best-of-five tie.
Sharapova, coming off her runner-up finish to Serena Williams at the
Australian Open, won the first set in 33 minutes. She jumped out to a big lead
in the second set before Radwanska fought back to level it at 5-5. However,
Radwanska fell short and lost her second match of the weekend following a
three-set loss to Svetlana Kuznetsova on Saturday.
The 27-year-old Sharapova entered Sunday’s match with an 11-2 record against
Radwanska.
Russia will face either Australia or Germany in a semifinal in April.
The singles match between Urszula Radwanska and Kuznetsova was scrapped. The
doubles match features a Russian tandem of Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and
Vitalia Diatchenko versus a Polish duo of Klaudia Jans-Ignacik and Alicja
Rosolska.
Russia is a four-time Fed Cup champ, claiming each of its titles from 2004-08.
