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Zvonareva puts Russia 1-0 up in Fed Cup final with Spain

MADRID: Russia took a 1-0 lead in the Fed Cup final after Vera Zvonareva overpowered Spanish number one Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-3, 6-4 in the opening rubber of the five-match tie on Saturday.

From the start Medina Garrigues was under pressure from the world number nine’s blistering forehands and running volleys. Zvonareva broke the Spaniard in her first service game on the clay courts of the Club de Campo sports club outside Madrid.

She pounced on anything short from the world number 29, but on a warm, clear day in the Spanish capital, Medina grew in confidence and went on the offensive to hold her next game and break Zvonareva in the fifth. The Muscovite upped her game again to break in the seventh game before serving for the set in 44 minutes.

Again in the second, Medina Garrigues tracked down every ball with the raucous support of spectators and from 2-0 down reeled off four games in the row with some sensational winners and thanks to some loose shots from the Olympic singles bronze medallist.

Eventually however, the Russian’s more aggressive game took its toll on Medina Garrigues who withered under the barrage of forehand winners and lost the next four games to give Zvonareva the match after one hour and 33 minutes. In the second match, world number seven Svetlana Kuznetsova takes on Carla Suarez, ranked 49 and who reached the quarter-finals of this year’s French Open. reuters

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