Spain leads China 2-0 in the Fed Cup semifinal

BEIJING, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Spain enjoyed a flying start in the Fed Cup semifinal clash against China, grabbing two singles wins 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.

In the first rubber Spain's number two singles Carla Suarez-Navarro beat ill-formed Peng Shuai, ace singles player for China, with a convincing 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) triumph.

Ranking 68th, Peng encountered huge pressure from 132nd ranked Navarro, who had no Fed Cup singles experience before. The 20-year-old rampant Spaniard gripped the match firmly in control with her pinpoint backhand strokes.

"Too much unforced errors ruined my match. I have just recovered from an injury and only resumed training this Tuesday. I guess that caused my lapse today," said an disappointed Peng.

The second rubber pitted Spain's number one singles Nuria Llagostera Vives against 206th ranked Zheng Jie of China. 76th ranked Vives overwhelmed Zheng, who is mainly majoring in doubles, 6-3, 6-4 to seal another win for Spain.

Although seizing the match, Vives was not very satisfied with the referee, complaining of being misjudged in a post-match media conference.

The semifinal will continue on Sunday with two singles and a doubles to go. Only one win will be good enough for Spain to reach the final and play against the winner of the other semifinal between U.S. and Russia.

Vives will meet Peng in tomorrow's third rubber, while Navarro will take on Zheng. Chinese top doubles Zheng Jie/Yan Zi will face Maria-Jose Martines Sanchez/Arantxa Parra-Santonja in the last rubber.

Spain muscled out Italy, runner-up of last year, 3-2 in the first round in Naples to reach the semifinal. While China, biding to rewrite the history and become the first ever Asian finalist in Fed Cup, stunned tennis powerhouse France with a 3-2 first-round victory in February.