Czechs win first Fed Cup title in 23 years

The Czech Republic won its first Fed Cup title in 23 years on Sunday after Lucie Hradecka and Kveta Peschke beat Maria Kirilenko and Elena Vesnina 6-4, 6-2 in the decisive doubles match to secure a 3-2 win over Russia in the final.It was the sixth title in the competition for the Czechs but their first since 1988, when it competed as Czechoslovakia and beat the Soviet Union 2-1 in the final. The victory also caps a breakthrough season for second-ranked Petra Kvitova, who won both of her singles matches for the Czechs. Svetlana Kuznetsova and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova then beat Czech No.2 Lucie Safarova to set up the decisive doubles.Petra won two points, but we needed one more, Czech captain Petr Pala said. Im glad weve managed to (get) the third one. We all won it because victory is made of small pieces you have to put together. Its team work.Russia captain Shamil Tarpischev also praised Kvitova.The Czechs won thanks to Kvitovas superb play, Tarpischev said. She was just great.The Russian pair broke early for a 4-2 lead, but the Czechs won four consecutive games to take the first set and then jumped to a 5-2 lead in the second. The Russians saved three match points on Vesninas serve before she sent a shot wide on the fourth.The Czechs played unbelievably well, they dominated the game and left us no chance, Vesnina said. It was tough to get something going today, but we fought until the very end.Earlier on Sunday, Kvitova rallied to beat Svetlana Kuznetsova 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova then replaced Kirilenko and kept the Russians hopes alive by beating Safarova 6-2, 6-4.Pavlyuchenkova won five consecutive games in the first set and broke decisively in the fifth game of the second to serve out the match at love, closing it with an ace.Pavlyuchenkova also helped Russia get out of the first round against France in February, when she won the first reverse singles to start Russias comeback from 2-0 down.