Maria Sharapova leads ‘underdogs’ Russia against Czech Republic in Fed Cup final

Maria Sharapova has played only four Fed Cup ties, but her presence on the court could make all the difference as Russia take on holders the Czech Republic in the 2015 final at the weekend.

The 28-year-old world No 4 will likely face sixth-ranked Petra Kvitova and ninth-ranked Lucie Safarova, the left-handed duo who have led the Czechs to three Fed Cup titles from the last four editions.

“It’s a great way to finish off the year playing with two of the best players,” said Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam winner, who was sidelined with leg and arm problems from July to October.

“It’s definitely a very new experience, I’ve been part of the team on different occasions but never in the final.”

Sharapova returned to action at the WTA Tour Finals last month, where she lost to Kvitova in the semi-finals — after losing to Safarova at the French Open in June.

“I know how difficult an opponent they are and it will be a great challenge for me,” said Sharapova, called up alongside world No 23 Ekaterina Makarova, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (28) and Elena Vesnina (111).

“We are coming into these finals as the underdogs.”

Russian captain Anastasia Myskina said she was pleased to have Sharapova on the team, waving aside a decade-old rift between them over Sharapova’s father.

“Definitely it’s very important to have Maria on the team and I want to say thank you,” Myskina said.

Equally high-spirited, the Czech team denied being the favourite.

“They have the highest-ranking player and a permanent doubles pair” of Vesnina and Makarova, said Czech captain Petr Pala, who has also nominated 11th-ranked Karolina Pliskova and world number 41 Barbora Strycova. “The chances are perfectly even.”

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.

“Left-handed rotation will help, and of course you have to fight until the end, Marushka doesn’t give up until the last point.”

The two nations have met five times in the Fed Cup before but three of those meetings were between Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union.

The Czech team lead their head-to-head record with Russia 3-2, including a victory in the most recent encounter in the 2011 final in Moscow.

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.

Four-time champions Russia will be playing in their 11th Fed Cup final.

Maria Sharapova eyes first Fed Cup final against Czechs

PRAGUE — Seven years after she helped Russia win its last Fed Cup title, Maria Sharapova finally gets to play in a final this weekend.

Her rare presence in the team is a boost for Russia's hopes of taking the cup from the defending champion Czech Republic on an indoor hard-court at Prague's O2 Arena.

"It's definitely a very new experience," Sharapova said on Wednesday. "I've been part of the team on different occasions but never in the final.

"Having me as part of the team is really exciting, and I hope we can have a good weekend."

All four of her previous Fed Cup ties were in the first round, and all wins.

In 2008, she missed the triumphant final in Spain because of a right shoulder injury.

In 2011, she wasn't available for the home final loss to the Czechs because of a left ankle injury.

In 2012, Russia didn't pick her for the semifinals loss to Serbia because she was too busy.

This year, keen to qualify for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, she contributed two wins in the first-round defeat of Poland, and missed the semifinal win over Germany because of a leg injury.

Injury almost kept her out of this week's final.

The fourth-ranked Sharapova was sidelined with a leg injury after losing in the Wimbledon semifinals. At her first tournament back, the Wuhan Open in China last month, she retired in her first match with a left wrist injury. At the WTA Finals in Singapore, she reached the semifinals.

"It was just really great for me to be playing competitive matches again," Sharapova said of the WTA Finals. "I didn't know how my body would hold up, and it was a really great week to have three victories there and have another chance to maybe play two more matches here.

"Everything I have played after the injuries has been a bonus for my tennis, to see where my health is."

To help captain Anastasia Myskina become the fourth woman to win the Fed Cup as a player and captain - she played in the 2004 and '05 triumphs - Sharapova will have to overcome opponents who have become as dominant in the Fed Cup as Russia once was.

The Czechs claimed their third Fed Cup title in four years last November by beating Germany in the final in Prague, and have all their major stars available, led by top-10 players Petra Kvitova and Lucie Safarova.

With Kvitova and Safarova, the Czechs won their first title as an independent nation, following the 1993 split of Czechoslovakia, in 2011 by beating Russia in Moscow, and retained the trophy in Prague the following year.

Sharapova has positive win-loss records against both; 6-4 vs. the sixth-ranked Kvitova, and 4-2 vs. the ninth-ranked Safarova. However, she has lost to both Czechs this year.

"I know how difficult opponents they are, it will be a great challenge for me," Sharapova said. "Both meetings, I have lost in quite tough matches."

She was beaten by eventual finalist Safarova 7-6 (3), 6-4 in the round of 16 at the French Open, while Kvitova defeated her 6-3, 7-6 (3) in the WTA Finals.

"It's always tough to play her," Safarova said. "You need to be aggressive to succeed."

The Czechs also have on board Karolina Pliskova and Barbora Strycova, while Russia is counting on Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Ekaterina Makarova, and doubles specialist Elena Vesnina.