Issue link: http://itf.uberflip.com/i/117483
FED CUP BY BNP PARIBAS COLLISION COURSE The last three teams to win Fed Cup by BNP Paribas all booked a spot in the 2013 semifinals as the 50th year of Fed Cup shapes up to be memorable both on court and off. by Jamie Renton F Petra Kvitova won the decisive rubber for the Czechs for the third time in their last four ties ierce contests, spirited fightbacks and determined debuts headlined the opening weekend of the 2013 Fed Cup by BNP Paribas, but it was last year���s winners who kicked-off the competition���s 50th year in the most emphatic fashion. Unbeaten in their previous six Fed Cup ties, Czech Republic achieved its most convincing result in almost six years after sinking Australia 4-0 on hard courts at the Cez Arena in Ostrava. Not since its 5-0 win over Slovak Republic in April 2007 had Czech Republic won a Fed Cup rubber without reply, and the lop-sided numbers underlined the hosts��� desire for a third straight title in the competition even if they did the visitors something of a disservice. Had Sam Stosur converted the match point at 62 5-4 in the third rubber that would have given Jarmila Gajdosova the chance to level the tie against Lucie Safarova, Alicia Molik���s team could have experienced vastly more positive emotions in her first tie as Australian captain. As it was, Petra Kvitova once again proved her nation���s trump card, winning her 13th singles rubber in her last 14 attempts on Fed Cup duty after rallying to defeat Stosur and seal the decisive third rubber. ���Petra made something happen on the big points,��� conceded Molik, who described Kvitova as ���by far the best Fed Cup player out there, bar none.��� ���I���m amazed that when the chips are down, when she faces break points, she really plays to win.��� It will be three years this April since Czech Republic last suffered defeat in Fed Cup, and how fitting that Italy, the last team to stop Petr Pala���s juggernaut, will test the seven-time champions��� seemingly impenetrable resolve on clay in Palermo in the semifinals. Three-time winners and second in the Fed Cup nation���s ranking, Italy is arguably best equipped for the task, even if USA���s Varvara Lepchenko gave them a mighty scare in the first round. Lepchenko marked her Fed Cup debut with singles wins against Roberta Vinci and Sara Errani to give USA a glimpse of their first win over Italy since 2003, only for Vinci to right the ship in her reverse singles before combining with Errani to seal a 3-2 triumph with a 62 62 victory against Lepchenko and Leizel Huber in the doubles. Huber, for one, was left in little doubt of the strength of Corrado Barazzutti���s team. Sam Stosur lost two desperately close matches