The United States was eliminated in the first round of the Fed Cup, losing to Italy 3-2 Sunday in Rimini, Italy, when Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci defeated Varvara Lepchenko and Liezel Huber in the decisive doubles match.
Errani and Vinci, the top-ranked doubles team, won 6-2, 6-2 against a short-handed American team. The U.S. was without Serena and Venus Williams and Sloane Stephens because of injuries."I'm really proud of the team, they played their hearts out every single match," U.S. captain Mary Joe Fernandez said. "We knew it was going to be an uphill battle."The U.S. led 2-1 after Lepchenko beat Errani 7-5, 6-2 in Sunday's first reverse singles. But Vinci stopped Jamie Hampton 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 to set up the crucial doubles for Errani and Vinci, who ended the best-of-five World Group series.Italy will host defending champion Czech Republic in the semifinals, a rematch of last year's semis. The Czech Republic defeated visiting Australia 4-0.Slovakia faces Russia in the other semifinal. Slovakia topped host Serbia 3-2, and host Russia downed Japan 3-2.Nadal loses on clayRafael Nadal lost to Horacio Zeballos in three sets in the VTR Open final in Vina del Mar, Chile, settling for a runner-up finish in his first tournament after being sidelined for seven months with a left knee injury.Zeballos won 6-7 (2), 7-6 (6), 6-4 for his first title on any surface, looking every bit the equal of the seven-time French Open champion.It was only the fifth singles final that Nadal has lost on clay."This is the game of my life," Zeballos said.Briefly Open Sud de France: Frenchman Richard Gasquet beat compatriot Benoit Paire 6-2, 6-3 in Montpellier for his second title this season. Gasquet broke Paire twice for a 5-2 lead and took the opening set when a backhand return from Paire sailed wide. Zagreb Indoors: Top-seeded Marin Cilic of Croatia defeated Jurgen Melzer of Austria 6-3, 6-1 to win the Croatian event for the third time and capture his ninth career title.Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
