Russia into Fed Cup final
Petrova won the final singles rubber and the deciding doubles match for Russia
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Monday, 16, Jul 2007 09:06
Russia's doubles pairing of Nadia Petrova and Elena Vesnina secured victory in the deciding rubber over USA's Venus Williams and Lisa Raymond to book their team's place in the Fed Cup final in September.
The Russian pair's 7-5 7-6 victory over the Americans – playing on their home patch in Vermont – helped them recover from a 2-1 deficit midway through the second set of singles rubbers.
Petrova, the world number 11, had to beat Meilen Tu, ranked 41, to keep Russia's hopes alive – and she duly wrapped up the win in little over an hour 6-1 6-2.
The doubles was a little more of a test for the visitors however as Petrova and Vesnina had to endure a difficult time against Williams and Raymond.
A tight first set was decided when the Russian pairing broke the Americans at the crucial scoreline of 6-5, sealing the first set in style.
Williams and Raymond looked to be on course to square things up at 1-1 when they grabbed an early break in the second set, but when Williams dropped her serve at 5-4 to even things up again the momentum swung back towards Petrova and Vesnina.
And when the second set went to a tie-break, the home pair seemed to seize up under the pressure.
Their inexperience in partnering one another – Raymond's regular partner is Vania King – showed, while the Russians seemed to garner confidence from the uncertainty across the net.
A dominant showing in the tie-break saw them home and they will line up against Italy in the final later this year – which will be played at Russia's venue of choice.