Sharapova to lead off Fed Cup for Russia

World No. 3 Maria Sharapova was given the opening match assignment for Russia in this weekend's Fed Cup quarterfinal against Spain. Sharapova, coming off an appearance in the finals of the Australian Open, draws Silvia Soler-Espinosa, ranked No. 77, in the first match of the best-of-five series beginning Saturday in Moscow. Russia has opted for a hard court in Moscow's Olympic Stadium. Saturday's second match pits 19th-ranked Svetlana Kuznetsova against Carla Suarez-Navarro, 58th in the world. Sharapova is also to play the first match Sunday, meeting Suarez-Navarro, and Soler-Espinosa will take on Kuznetsova. If the teams split the four singles matches, the series will be decided in a doubles match with Russians Ekaterina Makarova and Nadia Petrova going against Spain's Nuria Llagostera Vives and Arantxa Parra-Santonja. Russia, the 2011 runner-up to the Czech Republic, is looking for its fifth Fed Cup title. It won four of the championships in the five-year span of 2004-08. Spain owns five Fed Cup titles, with the most recent coming in 1998. The Spain-Russia series winner advances to the Fed Cup semifinals April 21-22 against either Belgium or Serbia. The cup finals are Nov. 3-4.