Czechs win first Fed Cup title in 23 years

MOSCOW (AP) -The Czech Republic won its first Fed Cup title in 23 years on Sunday after Lucie Hradecka and Kveta Peschke beat Maria Kirilenko and Elena Vesnina 6-4, 6-2 in the decisive doubles match to secure a 3-2 win over Russia in the final. It was the sixth title in the competition for the Czechs but their first since 1988, when it competed as Czechoslovakia and beat the Soviet Union 2-1 in the final. The victory also caps a breakthrough season for second-ranked Petra Kvitova, who won both of her singles matches for the Czechs. Svetlana Kuznetsova and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova then beat Czech No.2 Lucie Safarova to set up the decisive doubles. "Petra won two points, but we needed one more," Czech captain Petr Pala said. "I'm glad we've managed to (get) the third one. We all won it because victory is made of small pieces you have to put together. It's team work." Russia captain Shamil Tarpischev also praised Kvitova. "The Czechs won thanks to Kvitova's superb play," Tarpischev said. "She was just great." The Russian pair broke early for a 4-2 lead, but the Czechs won four consecutive games to take the first set and then jumped to a 5-2 lead in the second. The Russians saved three match points on Vesnina's serve before she sent a shot wide on the fourth. "The Czechs played unbelievably well, they dominated the game and left us no chance," Vesnina said. "It was tough to get something going today, but we fought until the very end." Earlier on Sunday, Kvitova rallied to beat Svetlana Kuznetsova 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova then replaced Kirilenko and kept the Russians' hopes alive by beating Safarova 6-2, 6-4. Pavlyuchenkova won five consecutive games in the first set and broke decisively in the fifth game of the second to serve out the match at love, closing it with an ace. Pavlyuchenkova also helped Russia get out of the first round against France in February, when she won the first reverse singles to start Russia's comeback from 2-0 down. In their first ever meeting, Kvitova and Kuznetsova traded breaks three times in the first set before the Czech, 5-4 down on her serve in the 10th game, saved a set point before netting a backhand to go 1-0 down in the match. But the Wimbledon champion won five consecutive games in the second set and, trailing 3-0 in the decider, went on to win the rest of the games and close the match with a backhand winner on her second match point. "I wasn't playing my tennis in the first set, making too many mistakes, while Svetlana moved and returned very well," Kvitova said. Kvitova, who made 19 unforced errors, said she had forced herself to begin playing cross-court shots instead of her favorite flat drives in the second set and it paid off. "It was tough to come back into the match in the second set, " Kvitova said. "In the third set I was 3-0 down and I didn't think I could still win. I managed to come back on Svetlana's (Kuznetsova) serve and it was a very important moment in the match." Kvitova remained unbeaten in six Fed Cup matches this season. The victory was her 12th in a row after winning back-to-back titles in Linz, Austria, and the season-ending WTA Championships in Istanbul last weekend. "She (Kvitova) began to play much better after she fell behind 3-0 in the third set," Kuznetsova said. "I was just unlucky on some points. The difference between us today was that she had played so many such matches this season, while I rarely had such intriguing matches." Kvitova won six titles this season and moved to No. 2 in the rankings. "I played well today, but she was just a bit better on key moments," Kuznetsova said. Russia was without its top players. Maria Sharapova has an ankle injury and wasn't selected for the final, while Vera Zvonareva was forced to pull out on Friday because of shoulder injury. Tarpischev said Zvonareva's late injury forced him to make some emergency decisions and call up Kirilenko, who was already on vacation. Russia has won the Fed Cup title four times since 2004 and was unbeaten at home in 10 ties since losing to France in the semifinals in 2003.

Kvitova to face Kirilenko in Fed Cup final opener

MOSCOW (AP) -Maria Kirilenko was surprisingly picked by Russia to face Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic in the opening singles of the Fed Cup final on Saturday. Kirilenko, whose Fed Cup experience was limited to two matches five years ago, was tagged as Russia's No. 2 by captain Shamil Tarpischev in Friday's draw. Two-time Grand Slam winner Svetlana Kuznetsova, Russia's No. 1, takes on Lucie Safarova in the second singles. Earlier, Vera Zvonareva, who was expected to lead the home side on an indoor hard-court at Olympic Stadium, was forced to pull out because of the shoulder injury that has been troubling her for the last two weeks. "Of course Zvonareva's absence is a big loss for us," Tarpischev said. "We would have been much stronger with her. But it was clear that in her current form and without her serve she would have been the weakest one on the team." Kvitova said it will not be easy to beat Russia even without Zvonareva. "I think they are still strong. It (the final) is still wide open, 50-50," she said. Kvitova has had a remarkable season. The Czech started the year ranked outside the top 30 but won Wimbledon for her first Grand Slam title and beat Victoria Azarenka in the WTA Championships final in Istanbul on Sunday to claim her sixth title this year and move up to No. 2 in the rankings. She has a 9-4 win-loss record in the Fed Cup, winning all four singles in two ties this season, and insisted she was not tired after the long season. "I will play 100 percent for sure and actually I'm not tired," Kvitova said. Kirilenko beat Kvitova the two times they played on the WTA tour in 2009, but both have moved up in the rankings considerably since then. "A Fed Cup match differs from the one in a tournament and she (Kirilenko) will have no advantage that she had won (before)," Kvitova said. Kirilenko said though she expected Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to be nominated to play in the opening singles, she will be motivated on Saturday. "When you know that it's the last tournament in the season you always want to play your best," Kirilenko said. In another surprise move, Tarpischev name doubles specialist Elena Vesnina to substitute for Zvonareva in the doubles. "The choice (of Vesnina) was purely tactical," Tarpischev said. "A tie is played in two days, and the second day is always really complicated. But why I've made this choice, you'd better ask me tomorrow." Kuznetsova has an impressive 21-7 Fed Cup record, and was 2-1 against Safarova, who has won only five of her 13 matches in the Fed Cup. In Sunday's reverse singles, Kvitova is set to play Kuznetsova, then Kirilenko takes on Safarova. In the doubles, Vesnina will partner Pavlyuchenkova against the Czech duo of Lucie Hradecka and Kveta Peschke. Russia has won the Fed Cup title four times since 2003. The Czechs are five-time winners, but their last final appearance was in 1988 when, as Czechoslovakia, they beat the Soviet Union 2-1.

Swiss opt for indoor clay to face US in Davis Cup

BASEL, Switzerland - Switzerland has chosen to host the United States on an indoor clay court at Fribourg in the 2012 Davis Cup. The Swiss tennis federation says the first-round series will be played Feb. 10-12 at the 7,200-capacity Forum Fribourg arena. Switzerland's biggest indoor arenas in Geneva and Zurich were unavailable to stage the match. The Swiss team did not say whether Roger Federer will play in the series, scheduled two weeks after the Australian Open. Federer has not played in the first round of the Davis Cup since 2004. The teams last met in 2009 in the first round, when the Americans won 4-1 in Birmingham, Ala.

Djokovic beats Baghdatis

BASEL, Switzerland (AP) -Novak Djokovic fought back from losing the first set to beat Marcos Baghdatis 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the Swiss Indoors quarterfinals on Friday. The top-ranked Djokovic stayed on course to meet hometown favorite Roger Federer in the final for a third straight year, after the defending champion beat Andy Roddick of the United States 6-3, 6-2. Djokovic had his serve broken twice early on before recovering to seal a victory that took his record against Baghdatis to 6-0, and raised his 2011 record to 67-3. "I started slowly, no life on the court, and he took his chances," said Djokovic, playing his first tournament after a six-week break to heal a back injury. "My body is still getting used to this competition mode. I have to stay patient." The U.S. Open, Wimbledon and Australian Open champion will play 32nd-ranked Kei Nishikori of Japan in Saturday's semifinals. Nishikori beat Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 in a match that featured 13 breaks of serve. Federer will play his 2008 Beijing Olympics gold medal-winning doubles partner Stanislas Wawrinka. The Swiss No. 2 eased past Florian Mayer of Germany 6-2, 6-2. In beating Roddick at Basel for the fourth time, Federer improved to 21-2 against the 2003 U.S. Open winner. He cruised to victory after breaking Roddick's serve to lead 5-3 in the first set. "It's great to get those big momentum shifts going sometimes. It was a good performance from my side," said Federer, who also is returning after six weeks off. Roddick's pay check this week raised his career tournament earnings over $20 million. Djokovic came to Basel having not played since Sept. 18, and was pushed to three sets for the second time in three matches. "It's nothing I didn't expect, but I'm winning matches and that is what matters most," Djokovic said. The 59th-ranked Baghdatis broke the top-seeded Serb's serve, and struck six aces in dominating the first set. Djokovic broke through for a 4-2 lead in the second after the Cypriot double-faulted. Djokovic commanded the rest of the match, sealing victory in exactly one hour less than Nishikori's two-hour, 39-minute effort. Neither Nishikori nor 113th-ranked Kukushkin could land half of their first serves, however the 21-year-old Japanese took his first match-point chance with just his second ace. With his three victories in Basel, Nishikori will rise to a career-best ranking and highest by a Japanese man. He had been No. 30 after reaching the Shanghai Masters semifinals last month. "It's a great feeling. A great experience for me," said Nishikori, who lost his only meeting with Djokovic at the 2010 French Open. "(Novak) is playing on a different level. I am going to try to be more aggressive than usual."

Nadal pulls out of Paris to focus on ATP finals

MADRID - Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from the Paris Masters to focus on the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals and Davis Cup final. The second-ranked Nadal says on his Facebook page the decision to pull out of next week's event at Bercy was necessary "to prepare well for the end of this season and also for 2012." The Spaniard has not played since losing to the 23rd-ranked Florian Mayer in the second round in Shanghai three weeks ago. Nadal is one of five players already qualified for the season-ending Nov. 20-27 tournament in London, which features the year's top eight players. The French Open champion also is expected to play for Spain against Argentina in the Dec. 2-4 Davis Cup final.

Big finish

MOSCOW (AP) -Petra Kvitova will have a chance to cap her remarkable season by leading the Czech Republic to its first Fed Cup win in 23 years this weekend against a Russia team struggling with injuries. Kvitova is coming off her first WTA Championships title that lifted her to No. 2 in the world rankings, and is expected to play singles along with Lucie Safarova for the Czech team. "I know that I'm No. 1 and there will be pressure on me," Kvitova said at a news conference on Wednesday. "But still we have a great team and hopefully we will get three points. We will do our best this weekend." Kvitova started the year ranked outside the top 30 but won Wimbledon for her first Grand Slam title and beat Victoria Azarenka in the WTA Championships final in Istanbul on Sunday. Russia, meanwhile, is still trying to determine who will be its No. 1 singles player, as seventh-ranked Vera Zvonareva has inflammation in her right shoulder which could jeopardize her participation in the final. Russia also has Svetlana Kuznetsova, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Maria Kirilenko in the team. Zvonareva suffered from pain in her shoulder and was close to retire before losing on the same court in the quarterfinals of the Kremlin Cup two weeks ago. In Istanbul last week, the Russian won only one of her four matches. "First of all, one's serve suffers from such an injury," Russia captain Shamil Tarpischev said. "But it's useless to play against the Czechs without a solid serve. You have to hold your serve first. And Kvitova will hold hers." Tarpischev said doctors are working with Zvonareva but "we will have to wait for the outcome." Tarpischev hopes that a slow hard court at the Olympic indoor stadium will benefit his team and slow down Kvitova's speedy game. "It will be easier to cope with her (Kvitova's) speed and vary the height of the ball's bounce," Tarpischev said. "The task will be not only to try to overplay her with the power of the shot but beat her tactically as well. If we are able to do this then not only Zvonareva can beat Kvitova." The Czechs might have one more advantage - both Kvitova and Safarova are left-handers. "I think it's always an advantage in tennis and that's the main reason why they (Kvitova and Safarova) are here," Czech captain Petr Pala said. "And hopefully it's going to work again." Kvitova won all four of her singles matches this year as the Czechs beat Slovakia and Belgium on the way to the final. But Tarpischev called up a couple of Russian lefties to practice with the team. "We were considered to be the favorites for this tie by midseason, but now chances of both teams are even," Tarpischev said. "Now we feel no pressure and it makes our task easier." A four-time champion, Russia is back on home turf for the final of the competition for the first time since routing Italy 4-0 here in 2007 for its third crown. The Czechs are five-time winners, but their last final appearance was in 1988 when Czechoslovakia beat the Soviet Union 2-1. Russia is unbeaten at home in 10 ties since losing to eventual champion France in the semifinals in 2003. "But obviously we came (here) not like underdogs, we came to win and we are going to do everything to achieve it," Pala said.

Melzer to skip 2 tourneys because of ailing back

VIENNA - Jurgen Melzer has pulled out of the Swiss Indoors in Basel and Paris Masters because of a back injury, ending his singles season and raising doubts if he can play doubles at next month's season-ending ATP Finals in London. Melzer's manager, Ronnie Leitgeb, told the Austria Press Agency on Monday that it's "a very difficult decision to probably end the season here, but it's his only chance to recover 100 percent." Leitgeb said Melzer would probably not recover in time for the Nov. 20-27 London event. Melzer was ranked a career-high eighth in April but has dropped to 26th. He lost to South Africa's Kevin Anderson on Thursday in the quarterfinals in Vienna, a tournament he had won the past two years.