JOIN USThe Czech Republic won a second straight Fed Cup here on Sunday after Lucie Safarova gave them an unbeatable 3-1 lead over Serbia by thrashing Jelena Jankovic 6-1, 6-1.
Safarova cruised past Jankovic in just an hour and 17 minutes, keeping the Serbian under constant pressure and earning 32 winners against Jankovic’s eight.
“It’s fantastic because it happened at home, in Prague, in front of our fans,” a triumphant Safarova said. The Czechs stumbled earlier on Sunday after Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic reduced their two rubber lead from Saturday to 2-1 by beating Petra Kvitova 6-3, 7-5.
Ivanovic, the world number 12, needed an hour and 46 minutes to sink Kvitova, the world number eight, who was grappling with the effects of an illness.
Kvitova, sweating profusely and visibly weakened by a cold, lost her first rubber after an 11-game Fed Cup winning streak.