Day 1 of the Fed Cup final in Prague is over and the Czech Republic and Russia are tied at 1-1 as their leading players Petra Kvitova and Maria Sharapova recorded victories.
Singles match that opened competition was the one between Petra Kvitova and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and even though the Russian raced to a 4-1 lead that she capitalized on by winning the first set 6-2, the world No.6 Czech absolutely shifted the momentum in the following set and roared to a 2-6 6-1 6-1 victory.
Playing her first ever Fed Cup final, Maria Sharapova brought one big point to Russia by beating Karolina Pliskova 6-3 6-4 in their first career meeting.
As you know, our photographer Jimmie48 is in Prague, bringing us exclusive updates straight from the courts. I especially like this Masha’s gem from the press conference:
„I just see red, white & blue and pretend they’re Russian!“ @MariaSharapova on seeing all the Czech flags… pic.twitter.com/ZOcOEEi8Uq
— Jimmie48 Photography (@JJlovesTennis) November 14, 2015
Moreover, can a Fed Cup photo get any better than this? 🙂 Look at team captain Anastasia Myskina, Sharapova’s focus and the relaxed team selfie time in the background.
Sunday’s action will open with a Sharapova vs. Kvitova blockbuster and will be followed by an encounter of Pliskova and Pavlyuchenkova, while the title could be decided by the doubles between Czechs Lucie Safarova and Barbora Strycova and Russians Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina.
I’m really excited for Maria vs Petra! It’s going to be a very good match. Petra has an upper hand considering she plays well at Fed Cup but I know Maria will save her best on this match!
Emman Damian, Kvitova opened the match very strong, breaking Maria right away and holding on to that lead. Let’s see how it will develop. We’re still in the first set.