Russia, Italy, France and the US reached the semifinals of the Fed Cup on Sunday, with Russia beating Spain 5-0 to guarantee a spot in the last four, while defending champion Italy did the same to China and France shut out Japan.
The US advanced against Belgium when Vania King, playing for a sidelined Serena Williams, beat Kirsten Flipkens 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 to give the US players an insurmountable 3-0 lead in Delray Beach, Florida.
After King won, Venus Williams beat Yanina Wickmayer 6-1, 6-2. The US players will take on Russia in the semifinals July 14-15 at a US site to be determined.
PHOTO: AFP
Williams pulled out a few hours before she was to face Flipkens, citing slight inflammation in the right knee. A team spokesman said the move was precautionary and unrelated to a groin muscle Williams injured April 10 when she retired from a match in Charleston, South Carolina.
King and Lisa Raymond were playing Yanina Wickmayer and Tamaryn Hendler in doubles later on Sunday.
Fifth-ranked Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 on clay in Moscow at the Luzhniki indoor arena to give Russia its win over Spain.
Kuznetsova, the 2004 US Open champion, easily won the first set but struggled in the second.
"I completely lost the second set," Kuznetsova said. "I do not know what has happened to me. I could not go in for the ball at all."
Anna Chakvetadze, who filled in for Nadia Petrova, beat Nuria Llagostera Vives 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2 in the second reverse singles match.
Petrova and Elena Vesnina defeated Laura Pous-Tio and Lourdes Dominguez-Lino 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 in the doubles.
Kuznetsova and the Petrova are the two highest-ranked players competing this weekend in World Group I. Both won their opening matches on Saturday.
Russia, which won titles in 2004 and 2005, will face either the US or Belgium in the semifinals on July 14-15.
Italy got its deciding point when Tathiana Garbin beat Zhang Shuai 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 at home on clay in Castellaneta Marina.
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Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
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