#Russia strolled to a convincing 4-0 thrashing of #Italy to reclaim their spot in the World Group II, just one year after falling into the zonal groups for the first time in more than 20 years. Equipped with some of their best players available currently, the four-time #FedCup champion refused to let loose as they stormed to take all three singles matches before fielding youngsters to seal the dead doubles rubber.
Italy came into Moscow with a decent team — with all hopes lying on top-ranked #CamilaGiorgi but the hard-hitting Italian was forced to sit on the sidelines for the weekend as she was still struggling with her health and was unfit to compete. This left Italy with no player ranked higher than 146th, and Russia was effectively handed the win before the tie even started unless a miracle happened.
Russia did not disappoint, even with their top-ranked but out-of-form #DariaKasatkina being kept on the bench throughout the weekend. Captain #IgorAndreev has made some good decisions during his helm, allowing the two “Anastasia”s in his team to grab all three singles wins to send Russia back into the elite group of teams in the World Group II.
Day 1: Potapova and Pavlyuchenkova battles past respective inspired opponents
#AnastasiaPotapova, the third-ranked Russian in this tie, was opted ahead of Kasatkina to kick off proceedings. Going up against #MartinaTrevisan, the Russian youngster faced some nerves in the early stages in front of all her family and friends as she soon trailed by a set and a break, with the Italian being tipped to cause the huge upset.
Nonetheless, the 18-year-old displayed her sheer determination and fighting spirit as she rattled off 20 of the next 22 points to level the scores, ultimately rolling through the remainder of the match with a lopsided 2-6, 6-3, 6-1 scoreline after hitting 22 winners in the process.
The scoreline might have suggested that it is not that straightforward — and indeed, it was a tough win for #AnastasiaPavlyuchenkova over the dangerous #JasminePaolini. Paolini had previously defeated Kasatkina on clay last year and had proven her worth, hence she is definitely an opponent to never underestimate.
Being the more aggressive player on the court, Pavlyuchenkova had her moments of excellence but was forced to play catch-up throughout the entire match; saving three set points in the first set before recovering from a 1-3 deficit to take the match in two tiebreaks, leading Russia to a confident 2-0 lead after the first day of action.
Day 2: Pavlyuchenkova seals the win, youngsters add onto Italy’s misery
Pavlyuchenkova successfully backed up with strong performance with another confidence-boosting showcase, this time ousting Trevisan 6-4, 6-3 to seal the commanding 3-0 win for Russia. Despite struggling behind her second serves, the 27-year-old dominated the first serves and claimed the win within just an hour and 26-minutes of play.
Grabbing three consecutive games from 3-4 down in the opening set, Pavlyuchenkova just liked to play the comeback game this weekend as she battled back from a break down in the second set, putting an end to Italy’s 20-year reign in the World Group as they were unfortunately relegated into the zonal groups.
Team captain Igor Andreev then allowed an all-teenage team of #VladaKoval, who was making her Fed Cup debut, and former juniors doubles partner Anastasia Potapova, who was a heroine on the first day, to compete in the doubles rubber. Whereas, Italy fielded Jasmine Paolini and #SaraErrani, who has been struggling with her serve recently.
Errani’s serves were known to be weak — but she had adopted to using underarm serves as her overhead serves were just too poor and did not seem of tour-quality. 12 double-faults from the veteran saw Potapova and Koval retrieve from a set down to triumph 4-6, 6-3, 10-7, sealing the perfect weekend for Russia and the home fans.
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