Errani gains singles spot for Italy v Ukraine
Fresh off a quarterfinal appearance at the Australian Open, Sara Errani earned one of Italy's singles spots on Friday for this weekend's Fed Cup tie with Ukraine.
The 34th-ranked Errani will open against Kateryna Bondarenko on Saturday, with 2010 French Open winner Francesca Schiavone then facing Lesia Tsurenko on an indoor red clay court at Lauretana Forum.
Flavia Pennetta, Italy's usual No 2 player, is struggling with a back problem.
After the reverse singles on Sunday, Errani will team with Roberta Vinci against Yuliya Beygelzimer and Olga Savchuk in doubles.
Errani was beaten by Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic in the Australian Open quarterfinals. She also reached the doubles final in Melbourne, pairing with Vinci in a loss to Svetlana Kuznetsova and Vera Zvonareva of Russia.
Italy won the Fed Cup in 2006, 2009 and 2010.
However, in its last outing, an under-strength Italy - without Schiavone and Pennetta - had its eight-tie winning streak broken in a 5-0 loss to Russia in last year's semifinals.
The 89th-ranked Bondarenko is Ukraine's top player.
Italy has won all three of its ties with Ukraine.