The O2 Arena in Prague will play host to the Fed Cup Final between Czech Republic and Russia this week-end. It will be a clash between two Fed Cup nations who have enjoyed a proud record in this competition in the last 11 years. Russia won this competition four times in 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2008 and reached the final three times in the last five years
The Czech team won their first title as an independent nation in 2011 thanks to the contribution of Petra Kvitova, who completed a great year winning the big team tournament four months after her first triumph at Wimbledon. The strong Czech team added three more Fed Cup titles in the next four years.
This year the Fed Cup final will feature a star-studded match-up between two of the biggest stars of women’s tennis Petra Kvitova and Maria Sharapova who recently met in the semifinals at the WTA Championships in Singapore.
Sharapova, who missed out on all four Fed Cup wins of the Russian team, is looking forward to add this trophy to her long list of honours which includes a collection of all Grand Slam titles (Wimbledon 2004, US Open 2006, Australian Open 2008, Roland Garros 2012 and 2014).
“I am looking forward to the final. It’s something I have never been part of before”, said Sharapova.
The Russian team led by Sharapova beat Poland 4-0 in the opening round in Krakow. Svetlana Kuznetsova edged Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4 2-6 6-2 in the opening match. Sharapova beat Urszula Radwanska 6-0 6-3. Sharapova won the third rubber against Agnieszka Radwanska 6-1 7-5 sealing Russia’s spot in the semifinals.
Sharapova was sidelined by injury and could not take part in the semifinal against Germany but in her absence Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Julia Georges in the opening match. Pavlyuchenkova fought back from a set down to defeat Sabine Lisicki after saving a match point in the second match. Andrea Petkovic beat Kuznetsova in the third rubber match before Angelique Kerber drew level to 2-2 with a win over Pavlyuchenkova. Elena Vesnina and Pavlyuchenkova won the decisive doubles rubber against Lisicki and Petkovic to give the Russian team the decisive point.
“I was really proud of how the team came through in Germany because I knew they were the underdogs coming into that match. I am really glad that I have another chance to compete and be part of the team. I had a really terrific experience in Poland with everyone. Nastia Myskina was a really great team leader and I am excited to be part of it again ”, said Sharapova
Czech Republic has six players in the top 100 of the WTA Ranking, including two top-ten Petra Kvitova (twice Wimbledon champion in 2011 and 2014) and Lucie Safarova (this year’s Roland Garros finalist) and Karolina Pliskova (runner-up to Venus Williams in the WTA Elite Trophy in Zhuhai). The Czech tteam line-up will be completed by Barbora Strykova.
Kvitova and Safarova won eight of the twelve Fed Cup matches between them and contributed to the last three triumphs of their team in 2011, 2012 an 2014. Last year Kvitova won a thrilling third rubber match against Angelique Kerber in three sets.
The Czech team opened the 2015 Fed Cup campaign with a 4-0 win over Canada despite the absence of Petra Kvitova and Lucie Safarova. Pliskova won her singles matches against Francoise Abanda and Gabriela Dabrowski.
Czech Republic hosted France in Ostrava last September for the semifinal. Kvitova and Safarova returned to Fed Cup duty and contributed to the win of the home team against France. Safarova came back from a set down to edge Caroline Garcia with 4-6 7-6 (7-1) 6-1. Kvitova beat Kristina Mladenovic in the second rubber earning the Czech team a 2-0 lead. Kvitova beat Garcia in a close match to win the third point for the Czech team.
Kvitova expressed her pleasure for representing her country in the final which has become a tradition for the Czech team in the recent years.
“Sometimes I ask myself: why didn’t I play a team sport ? because I really like it. I enjoy it more because we don’t have much team competition in tennis. I think we are a pretty good team. We have a confidence from that, We have a good atmosphere off the court as well. That’s really important that we are really as a team and not as individual tennis players. Russia is a tough team but for me it’s great. It’s a challenge you can’t really wish for, playing the final at home against a great team. We had Germany last year and it was unbelievable”, said Kvitova.
Sharapova has a winning record over both Kvitova and Safarova. The Russian star leads 6-4 over Kvitova and 4-2 over Safarova. However, both Czech players beat Sharapova in their last head-to-head matches. Kvitova beat Sharapova in the round-robin of the 2014 WTA Finals in Singapore (6-3 6-2) and in the semifinal of this year’s WTA Finals (6-3 7-6). Safarova beat Sharapova in their most clash at this year’s Roland Garros with 7-6 6-4.
Czech Republic and Russia will meet for the sixth time in the history of the Fed Cup. I twill be their first clash since the Czech Republic won the 2011 final. Czech Republic will be bidding to become the first team since Russia to clinch four Fed Cup titles in five years.