Defending champions Russia wrapped up a 5-0 thrashing of China on Sunday to book a Fed Cup semi-final against Italy in a repeat of the 2007 final after the Italians dispatched France in Orleans.
The Russians have dominated the tournament in recent years and on current form look set for their fifth title in the past six years after Anna Chakvetadze motored past Yan Zi 6-1, 6-2 for the decisive third point before debutant teen Alisa Kleibanova crushed Sun Tian-Tian 6-1, 6-1.
Star pair Elena Dementieva, the Beijing Olympic champion, and Svetlana Kuznetsova completed the whitewash with a 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 doubles success over Yan and Sun.
PHOTO: EPA
Chinese skipper Zhang Qi strove to lift a depleted squad — missing the injured Zheng Jie as well as Li Na — but was unable to prevent Russia repeating their 5-0 romp in the countries’ only previous meeting in 2002.
Italy, meanwhile, reached their third semi-final in four years after Flavia Pennetta obliterated Alize Cornet 6-2, 6-2.
France, champions in 2003, slumped to their third opening round loss since 2005 after Pennetta saw off former Wimbledon and Australian Open champion Amelie Mauresmo on Saturday in a bad-tempered three-setter.
The Czech Republic also moved into the semis for the first time in 12 years after beating fellow five-time champions Spain 4-1.
Petra Kvitova saw off Nuria Llagostera 6-4, 7-5 and Lucie Safarova moved past Carla Suarez 6-4, 6-3 after the teams had ended the first day all square.
The Czechs can now look forward to a home encounter with the US, who defeated Argentina 3-2.
The US, playing without the superstar Williams sisters, also got a key contribution from a teenager, as 17-year-old Melanie Oudin shrugged off a 30-minute rain delay and rallied from a set down to defeat Argentina’s Betina Jozami 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 and force a deciding doubles match in Surprise, Arizona.
Julie Ditty and Liezel Huber then cruised to a 6-2, 6-3 triumph over Gisela Dulko and Jozami.
Earlier on Sunday, Dulko defeated US veteran Jill Craybas, 6-1, 6-3, to give the Argentinians a 2-1 advantage.
The match was the second, which was claimed by Dulko, who defeated Oudin on Saturday — when Craybas defeated Jozami.
Former world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic gave Serbia an unassailable lead over Japan to send Serbia into the World Group play-offs for the first time following a 6-3, 6-2 win over veteran Ai Sugiyama before Ana Ivanovic beat Ayumi Morita 6-1, 6-2.
Japan won the dead rubber doubles to make the final result 4-1 for Serbia, which had taken control on Saturday, when French Open champion and world No. 8 Ivanovic showed glimpses of her form last year to defeat Sugiyama 6-4, 6-4, before Jankovic destroyed 18-year-old Morita 6-1, 6-0.
Slovakia, Germany and Ukraine also won their World Group II ties.
■MOVISTAR OPEN
AP, VINA DEL MAR, CHILE
Top-seeded Fernando Gonzalez of Chile defeated Argentina’s Jose Acasuso 6-1, 6-3 on Sunday to claim his fourth Movistar Open title.
After a smooth first set for Gonzalez, fourth-seeded Acasuso upped the tempo in the second.
With the scores level at 3-3, defending champion Gonzalez broke Acasuso’s serve and then took advantage of a double fault by the Argentine to move ahead 5-3. Gonzalez then held his serve to win the match.
■SA TENNIS OPEN
AFP, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
Top seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga won his third ATP title on Sunday with a 6-4, 7-6 triumph over fellow Frenchman Jeremy Chardy in a thrilling SA Tennis Open final.
The 23-year-old Le Mans-born Tsonga won in Bangkok and Paris last year and succeeded in the revived South African tournament without dropping a single set in five matches.
■ZAGREB INDOORS
AFP, ZAGREB
Croatia’s Marin Cilic won the ATP Zagreb tournament with a 6-3, 6-4 defeat of his countryman Mario Ancic on Sunday.
Second-seeded Cilic, who did not lose a set the entire week, dominated as Ancic simply did not have an answer to his forehand.
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West Ham United’s 3-1 defeat at Newcastle United on Sunday left Tottenham Hotspur realistically only needing one more point to win the battle for English Premier League survival, while Bruno Fernandes made history in Manchester United’s 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest. Spurs can avoid dropping out of the English top flight for the first time in nearly 50 years with victory at Chelsea today, but a draw would also likely suffice thanks to their much superior goal-difference over West Ham. “Overall bad performance. Too many things [went wrong], I think we gifted them the goals,” West Ham head caoch Nuno Espirito Santo
MLB is experiencing an epidemic of guys being dudes. At ballparks all across the US, groups consisting of mostly young men are joining in on the “Tarps Off” trend that is loud, goofy, infectious and new to the baseball world. Joining in on the fun is simple: Go to the section where the party is happening, take off your shirt and start twirling it above your head. Soccer-like chants or singing usually follow — injecting a jolt of energy for a sport that is occasionally chided for its lack of energy inside the stadium. After getting its start in St Louis, Missouri, on
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