German players celebrate after beating US in Fed Cup World Group playoff in Stuttgart Sunday. (AP) MOSCOW: World No. 3 Vera Zvonareva put Russia into a Fed Cup final meeting with the Czech Republic by beating Italy's Roberta Vinci 6-4, 6-2 here Sunday. That gave the Russians an unassailable 3-0 lead over the defending champions having won both the opening singles on Saturday. And they promptly wrapped things up as Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova outlasted Sara Errani 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-4) in the second return singles before Pavlyuchenkova teamed with Ekaterina Makarova to complete a whitewash with a 7-6 (7-3), 6-1 doubles win over Alberta Brianti and Maria-Elena Camerin. In the Fed Cup final Russia will face the Czechs, who edged out Belgium 3-2 in a close-fought tie at Charleroi in Belgium. Petra Kvitova saw off Yanina Wickmayer 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 but Kirsten Flipkens hammered Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-2, 6-3 to keep the Belgians in it and take matters down the doubles, where Iveta Benesova and Zahlavova Strycova overcame Flipkens and Wickmayer 6-4, 6-4. Russia and Italy have dominated the premier women's team competition in recent times winning all seven titles contested since 2004, with Russia triumphant in 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2008 and Italy taking the prize in 2006, 2009 and 2010. Italian hopes, however, were badly hit by the absence of their top players. Flavia Pennetta missed the match in Moscow because of an injury, while Francesca Schiavone, opted out to better prepare for the clay-court season. There was an historic moment in the World Group playoffs when Germany's Andrea Petkovic's victory over Melanie Oudin of the United States Sunday saw the 17-time winners drop out of the top flight for the first time in the competition's 48-year history. The 23-year-old Petkovic needed just one hour 18 minutes to beat 19-year-old Oudin 6-2, 6-3, having already beaten teenager Christina McHale 6-3, 6-4 on Saturday. Then Petkovic's teammate Sabine Lisicki needed just 88 minutes to continue the hosts' domination later in the afternoon with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over McHale in the fourth rubber before Julia Goerge and Anna-Lena Groenefeld beat Liezel Huber and Vania King 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 in the doubles for a 5-0 whitewash. The United States had reached the Fed Cup final for the last two years but came to Stuttgart with an inexperienced squad. The Americans were missing their three leading players, including both the Williams sisters – Serena and Venus Williams – as well as Bethanie Mattek-Sands, ranked 41st in the world. A similar fate met France who went down to Spain, Lourdes Dominguez Lino supplying the crucial win 6-4, 6-4 over Pauline Parmentier to put the home side 3-1 ahead and condemning the French to World Group II for the first time. Ukraine defeated Australia 3-2 in a tightly-fought play-off encounter, while Slovakia and Serbia were level 2-2. – Agence France
