Bethanie Mattek-Sands celebrates at the end of her 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 match against Ekaterina Makarova in their Fed Cup singles match Sunday, April 25. Her victory kept the United States’ Fed Cup title hopes alive tying the semifinal matchup with Russia at 2-2.
That brought it down to a decisive doubles match with Mattek-Sands teaming up with Liezel Huber against the Russian team of Elena Dementieva and Alla Kudryavtseva.
The U.S. team proved to be tough enough for the test, taking down the Russian team in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1 for the overall semifinal win, 3-2. For the third time in five ties under second-year Captain, Mary Joe Fernandez, the U.S. Fed Cup team rallied from a 1-2 deficit and won the tie in the decisive doubles match.
The win earned the U.S. Fed Cup team the right to host defending champion Italy in the Fed Cup Final, Nov. 6-7 at a site to be determined by the USTA. It is the first time that the U.S. will host the Fed Cup Final since 2000, which is also the last year the U.S. won the event.
Last year’s Fed Cup champions, Italy, had little trouble reaching the final on home turf in Rome. The Italians did not drop a rubber as they blanked the Czech Republic 5-0.
