Italy was defeated by Russia in the Fed Cup

Russian women tennis team defeated Italy in the semifinals of the Fed Cup and reached the final of the prestigious tournament, where it will play with the Czech team.

For Italy the game with Russia was like a "cold shower". Russians won 5-0.

On Sunday, on the eve of the decisive game, the Russian team led 2-0. The decisive match between Vera Zvonareva and Roberta Vinci was won by the Russian 6-4 6-2.

After that Italian team had the opportunity to brighten up the defeat, but in a bitter struggle Sara Errani was unable to beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova –
7-6 (7/5) 7-6 (7/4).

And finally, the last victory went to Pavlyuchenkova and Makarova, who beat Bryant and Camerin 7-6 (7/3), 6-1.

According to the AFP agency, Zvonareva called this victory in the Fed Cup "one of the brightest emotions" in her life. It is worth noting that Zvonareva did not play for the national team for the past two years.

During the last decade Italy and Russia set the tone in the women team tennis. Beginning from 2004 these teams played in the final of the Federation Cup. Italy won this trophy three times - the last two years, and in 2006, and Russia became the winner of the Fed Cup four times - in 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2008.

It is worth noting that this time Italy was unable to present its strongest players for the Fed Cup. Flavia Penettaa (WTA number 20) missed the game due to the injury. In turn, the leader of the Italian women tennis - the fourth WTA player Francesca Schiavone chose to sacrifice the Fed Cup games in preparation for the upcoming season.