Italy beat Ukraine with doubles point
Flavia Pennetta shook off a sore back and paired with Roberta Vinci to secure a decisive doubles point for Italy in a 3-2 win over Ukraine on Sunday that put the hosts in the Fed Cup semifinals.
Pennetta sat out the singles competition but looked sharp in a 7-5, 0-6, 6-1 win over Lesia Tsurenko and Olga Savchuk.
In the April 21-22 semifinals, Italy will face the Czech Republic - led by Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova - after the Czechs beat Germany 4-1.
Italy won the Fed Cup in 2006, 2009 and 2010.
Earlier Sunday, former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone rallied to beat Kateryna Bondarenko 6-7 (6), 7-5, 6-4, but Sara Errani retired midway through her match with the 121st-ranked Tsurenko to draw Ukraine level 2-2.
Errani retired citing a right knee problem while trailing 6-1, 3-0.
Errani took Pennetta's singles spot in Friday's draw, and Pennetta's back was a worry.
"It's definitely not ideal but I gave it my all today," Pennetta said. "We had a bit of a lapse in the second set but it ended well."
Pennetta's accurate return game contrasted well with Vinci's expert volleying skills.
Vinci improved to 17-0 in Fed Cup doubles.
Errani had given Italy a 1-0 lead with a comfortable win over Bondarenko on Saturday but she was never in contention against Tsurenko, who routed Schiavone on the opening day of the tie.
Errani was coming off a strong performance at the Australian Open, where she reached the quarterfinals in singles and the final in doubles with Vinci.
Schiavone, who won Roland Garros in 2010 and was the runner-up last year, fell behind 5-1 in the second set before mounting her comeback against the 89th-ranked Bondarenko, who dominated up to that point with a series of backhand winners up the line.
Schiavone began dominating with her expert baseline play and big serving. Still, the Italian fell behind 4-2 in the third set before reeling off four consecutive games and punctuating the victory by following her serve to the net and ending it with a volley winner.
Schiavone celebrated by dropping down on her back to the red clay.
"I was playing so badly it couldn't get any worse," Schiavone said. "My tennis is always a battle against nerves."