By Nick Georgandis
TennisNow.com
©Mark Peterson/Corleve
It wasn't enough to keep the USA's hopes alive in the Fed Cup, but at least Bethanie Mattek-Sands can say she gave arguably the world's best player all she wanted.
Bethanie Mattek-Sands pushed Australian Open champion Kim Clijsters to three sets before falling 7-6 (10), 2-6, 1-6, a defeat that puts the US in the World Group playoffs while Belgium moves on to the Group I semifinals to take on the Czech Republic.
The Czechs notched their crucial third point on Sunday when Petra Kvitova defeated Daniela Hantuchova 6-2, 6-4 to give the Czech Republic a 3-0 lead. The match's conclusion wiped out the significance of the Jana Cepelova vs. Lucie Safarova match, which was tied one set apiece at the time. In the other first-round match,
Russia has rallied to tie France 2-2 and force the doubles' tie-break later this afternoon. After falling behind 0-2 yesterday, Russia rallied with a dramatic win by Anatasia Pavlyuchenkova - 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 - over Alize Cornet.
Svetlana Kuznetsova then defeated Virginie Razzano 6-4, 6-4 to even the score at 2-2. At 12:15 EST, Russia's Dinara Safina and Pavlyuchenkova will take on France's Pauline Parmentier and Julie Coin a spot in the semifinals against Italy.