Thanks to two singles victories from newly crowned Australian
Open champion Maria Sharapova, holder Russia beat Israel 3-1 here
on Sunday to make the semifinals of Fed Cup world group.
With the nations tied 1-1 going into Sunday's matches, Fed Cup
debutant Sharapova routed Shahar Peer 6-1, 6-1 in a reverse singles
match between the number ones.
Before the match, Peer had been undefeated in 11 Fed Cup singles
matches.
In the second singles rubber, world number seven Anna
Chakvetadze, a replacement for Dinara Safina, sealed the winning
point with a victory of 6-4, 6-2 over Tzipi Obziler.
In Saturday's games, Peer had drawn first blood for Israel with
a 0-6, 6-2, 6-2 win over Safina, while Sharapova completely
outclassed the world number 81 Obziler 6-0, 6-4 in the second
rubber.
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(Xinhua News Agency February 4, 2008)