Italy and Spain are tied 1-1 after the opening day of the Fed Cup World Group II in Chieti. Carla Suarez Navarro beat Jasmine Paolini 6-2 6-3 in the inaugural singles match to give Spain a 2-1 lead. Sara Errani took a much-needed 6-1 6-1 win over Lara Arruabarrena to level the match to 1-1.
Carla Suarez Navarro cruised past Italian young player Jasmine Paolini 6-2 6-3 in just 71 minutes in the opening singles match of Fed Cup BNP Paribas World Group II first round tie in the Central Italian town in Chieti to give Spain a 1-0 lead.
This year’s Australian Open quarter finalist Suarez Navarro broke twice to race out to a 4-1 lead in the opening set thanks to her forehand winners. Paolini, who made her Fed Cup debut, pulled one of the two breaks back, but got another break before wrapping up the first set with a forehand winner after 29 minutes.
The second set went on serve until th efifth game, when Suarez Navarro got another break. The Spanish star sealed the win on her first match point with a backhand down the line.
“Playing away is complicated. It’s not easy, feeling some nerves too because you want to perform well, but I played a good match from beginning to end. I like team competitions. It is a different week. There is a nice group spirit and we all know what we are here for. We have been working very hard and that paid off”, said Suarez Navarro.
Sara Errani broke serve six times to cruise past Lara Arruabarrena 6-1 6-1 in 63 minutes. The Spanish player broke back in the second game of the first set and in the third game of the second set but dropped all her six service games. Errani has scored the 24th Fed Cup win of her career becoming the third ranked player in the list for most singles and doubles wins by an Italian player at this event behind Francesca Schiavone and Flavia Pennetta.
Errani will take on Suarez Navarro in the first reverse rubber match on Sunday. Paolini will meet Arruabarrena in the second match.
