Navarro takes opening win for Spain in Fed Cup clash with China

BEIJING, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Carla Suarez-Navarro brought Spain an opening win in the Fed Cup semifinal after she upset PengShuai of China 6-3, 7-6(4) in the Beijing International Tennis Center here on Saturday.

Both teams were deprived of their top players, with China's most capped Li Na still sidelined due to the right knee injury and Spain's number one Anabel Medina Garrigues also absent from the roster.

Replacing Li as the ace single for China, Peng, ranked 68th, encountered huge pressure from 132-ranked Navarro, who had no Fed Cup single experience before. The 20-year-old rampant Spaniard built an early 3-1 lead and convert two out of six break opportunities to claim the first set.

Boasting a 7-1 tournament single record, Peng was unwilling to throw in the towel and launched fierce fight back. After a series of exchange of breaks, Navarro outscored Peng 7-4 in the tiebreaker to clinch the first-rubber victory for Spain.