Sara Errani romped to a 6-1, 6-1 win over Alisa Kleybanova in Cagliari to hand Italy an unassailable 3-0 lead over Russia and their third Fed Cup title in five years on Sunday.
A second-string Russian team, who had to contest the final without top players Maria Kirilenko, Elena Vesnina and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, were always likely to struggle against a team featuring grand slam doubles champions Errani and Roberta Vinci.
Errani, who was also a singles runner-up at the 2012 French Open, showed her class and experience as she won both her singles rubbers with the minimum of fuss and wrapped up the title for Italy with two matches to spare.
While the jubilant Italians were leaping for joy at the Cagliari Tennis Club, the Russians were left to digest their second runner-up finish in three years in the team competition.
Image: Sara Errani
Photograph: Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images
© 2024 Rediff.com -