September 16, 2008	Tuesday	Ramazan 15, 1429

MADRID, Sept 15: Russia lifted the Fed Cup for the fourth time in five seasons on Sunday after Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Spanish number one Anabel Medina Garrigues and their doubles pair completed a whitewash.

The world number seven’s 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 victory in two hours and 39 minutes gave Russia an unassailable 3-0 lead that was achieved despite the absence of the country’s top three players and underlined Russia’s dominance of the women’s game.

The victory for Kuznetsova, who had not won a tournament all year, was no easy matter, however. Medina Garrigues fought bravely with the noisy backing of the near full 4,000-seater stadium, before finally running out of steam in the last set.

As on Saturday, Medina Garrigues was slow out of the blocks, meekly conceding her first two service games in the face of her opponent’s powerful groundstrokes.

Kuznetsova seemed to be cruising but in the fifth game, the 26-year-old Spaniard somehow produced a fizzing crosscourt backhand off a Kuznetsova smash to set up a break and then hold her own serve in the following game.

The first set swung decisively the way of the Spanish Olympic doubles silver medallist in the ninth when Kuznetsova squandered four set points with a series of wayward forehands.

A fired-up Medina Garrigues set up her second break back of the set with a running drive backhand down the line before a deflated Kuznetsova patted the next ball into the net.

In a match played with great sportsmanship, Kuznetsova over-ruled a line judge to give her opponent a point with the set poised delicately at 5-5. Medina Garrigues went on to break the former US Open champion before holding her own serve to take the first set.

Kuznetsova raised her game in the second set and in the eighth game seized on Medina Garrigues’s short second serve to break for a 5-3 before slamming down two aces in the next to wrap up the set.

Medina Garrigues cancelled out an early break from Kuznetsova in the third set but failed to keep the pressure going and the Russian’s greater poise on the big points proved decisive.

Result (World Group final):

Elena Vesnina/Ekaterina Makarova (Russia) bt Nuria Llagostera/Carla Suarez Navarro (Spain) 6-2, 6-1; Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) bt Anabel Medina Garrigues (Spain) 5-7, 6-3, 6-4.

Played on Saturday:

Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) bt Carla Suarez Navarro (Spain) 6-3, 6-1; Vera Zvonareva (Russia) bt Anabel Medina Garrigues (Spain) 6-3, 6-4; Russia now hold an unassailable 4-0 lead.—Reuters