Sharapova to lead Russia at Fed Cup

Published January 14, 2015
Russia's Maria Sharapova poses with the Suzanne Lenglen trophy in Paris. — AFP/File
Russia's Maria Sharapova poses with the Suzanne Lenglen trophy in Paris. — AFP/File

MOSCOW: World number two Maria Sharapova will spearhead Russia in their Fed Cup open­i­ng-round match against Poland in Krakow on Feb 7-8, national Olympic team manager Vladi­m­ir Kamelzon said on Tuesday.

Four-time champions Russia are trying to bounce back from a disappointing 2014 season, when they lost 4-0 to Australia in their first-round clash.

Kamelzon added that in addition to five-time Grand Slam winner Shara­pova, Anas­tasia Pavly­u­che­nkova, 23rd in the WTA rankings, and four-time Grand Slam title winner Svetlana Kuznet­sova, ranked 27, will also play, along with world number 83 Vita Diatchenko.

“Sharapova’s participation is guaranteed,” Kamelzon told the R-Sport Agency.

“Kuznetsova and Pavlyuchenkova will likely play the doubles.

“Their participation will give all of them the right to play at the Olympics in Rio. We’ve formed a strong squad and our goal is to win this match.”

It will be the first meeting between the two nations in Fed Cup.

Published in Dawn, January 14th, 2015

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