ITF

Italy continued its domination of Fed Cup by BNP Paribas over the past decade by winning its fourth title in eight years with a 4-0 rout of Russia in the 2013 Final in Cagliari. Champions in 2006, 2009 and 2010, Italy had to sit back and watch a strong Czech Republic side claim Fed Cup glory in 2011 and 2012, but Corrado Barazzutti's team rediscovered its winning touch in 2013 to win the competition's 50th anniversary title in front of home fans. Italy lost just three rubbers all year – two of which came in a dramatic first round win over USA – to extend its record in the competition to 12 wins from 14 matches. Led by team stalwarts Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci, Italy came back from 2-1 down to defeat USA in the opening round and ousted defending champion Czech Republic 3-1 in the semifinals before coming up against an understrength Russian side at the Tennis Club Cagliari in Sardinia. Shamil Tarpischev had captained Russia to four titles in five years between 2004 and 2008, but his hopes of securing a fifth Fed Cup crown were dashed in the absence of the likes of Maria Kirilenko, Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vensina, who had played such a key role in guiding Russia to the Final. World No. 136 Alexandra Panova headed the line-up for the visitors and put up a stern fight, taking world No.13 Vinci to three sets in a match that lasted over three hours before finally handing over the opening rubber. Having broken their early resistance, it was one-way traffic for Italy from there as Errani won both of her singles rubbers, against Irina Khromacheva and Alisa Kleybanova, for the loss of just seven games in total to rubber stamp the triumph to the delight of the vociferous 5,000-capacity home crowd. The victory saw Italy overtake Czech Republic and re-establish itself atop the Fed Cup Nations Ranking for the first time since April 2012. New faces joining Italy in the World Group in 2014 are Germany and Spain, who earned promotion back into the top tier of the competition at the expense of Japan and Serbia. Elsewhere, Canada and Poland fought their way into World Group II following success in the play-offs. Player participation numbers saw an increase for a fifth consecutive year, with 347 players from 90 nations taking part in the World Group, World Group II and three regional zones. Fed Cup was shown by 47 dedicated broadcasters in 163 countries, while over 112,000 fans attended ties in 2013 including a sell-out Final in Cagliari. Five players received Fed Cup Heart Awards in 2013 as Errani, Paula Cristina Goncalves, Daniela Hantuchova, Agnieszka Radwanska and Galina Voskoboeva were rewarded for showing exceptional courage on court and demonstrating outstanding commitment to the team. It was a second Heart Award for Hantuchova, who also received one in 2012. Barazzutti received the Fed Cup Award of Excellence from the ITF and The International Tennis Hall of Fame and Museum. The competition continued to receive strong support from its title sponsor BNP Paribas, international sponsors Adecco and Bosco, and international partner Wilson. Off the court, Fed Cup continues to attract good crowds, with all 5,000 tickets for the 2013 Final selling out. There has also been a five per cent increase in the total visits to the official ITF websites, FedCup.com and FedCup.com/es. 112,000 347 Fans attended ties in 2013 Players took part 10 11 PROFESSIONAL TENNIS: FED CUP BY BNP PARIBAS Italy rediscovered its winning touch in 2013 to secure the competition's 50th anniversary title in front of home fans. FED CUP BY BNP PARIBAS

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