MOSCOW – World number three Vera Zvonareva spearheads Russia’s squad to play Italy in the Fed Cup semi-final here on April 16-17, Russian captain Shamil Tarpishchev announced Wednesday.
Zvonareva, 26, a double Fed Cup winner, is playing for her country for the first time since appearing in the title-winning team of 2008.
Tarpishchev also named Svetlana Kuznetsova, who is currently 14th in the world, in his squad.
The 25-year-old Kuznetsova, who won three Fed Cups as well as a US Open and French Open titles, was teamed up by Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 21st in the WTA rankings, and Ekaterina Makarova, 39th position. Russia lead 4-1 their head-to-head record with Italy in the Fed Cup.
