Maria Sharapova is happy to cast herself as the underdog in her first Fed Cup final appearance when Russian Federation seeks to take the trophy from holders Czech Republic this weekend. I [will] never be without the nerves playing Fed Cup for Czech Republic.
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‘Having me as part of the team is really exciting, and I hope we can have a good weekend.
The 28th-ranked Pavlyuchenkova, who finished the season winning 12 of her final 14 matches, including capturing the Linz crown and falling to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the Moscow final, is 3-0 in Fed Cup singles matches staged on hard court.
Four-time Fed Cup champions, Russia, are longing to lift the title once again as it has been six years (2008) since their last victory over the Spaniard team at the Club de Campo Villa de Madrid in Madrid, Spain. “We are going into this final as underdogs”.
“We expect to have a great crowd and a very nice atmosphere”, Sharapova told FedCup.com.
Sharapova missed nearly four months of the season with a leg injury but still scored the 10th top-10 year-end ranking of her career this week.
“Everything I have played after the injuries has been a bonus for my tennis, to see where my health is”.
The Czechs are playing for their ninth Fed Cup championship, including their fourth in the last five years.
Lucie Safarova and Barbora Strycova were drawn against Elena Vesnina and Ekaterina Makarova for Sunday’s doubles.
Dubbing Sharapova “Marushka”, the Czech for “little Maria”, Kvitova and Safarova said they would bet on left-handed rotation against her. “With Marushka, it’s always a matter of the few chances she gives you”, said Kvitova, the 2011 and 2014 Wimbledon champion, who is 4-6 head-to-head with Sharapova.
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Sharapova beat both Radwanska sisters helping visiting Russian Federation power past Poland, 4-0, in the February quarterfinals and lifting her record to 5-1 in Fed Cup play. The Czechs have won the trophy eight times, including five victories as Czechoslovakia which went on to split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993.
