MOSCOW (AP)—An Italy without its two best players has left Russia heavily favored to win their Fed Cup semifinal this weekend.
Without French Open champion Francesca Schiavone and regular Fed Cup partner Flavia Pennetta, two-time defending champion Italy is vulnerable to its first loss in more than three years.
By contrast, Russia will send out world No. 3 Vera Zvonareva and two-time Grand Slam winner Svetlana Kuznetsova.
"It will be difficult for us without Francesca and Flavia," Italy captain Corrado Barazzutti said on Wednesday. "But I think the team is much motivated to play this match and fight to the very last point."
With Schiavone preferring to prepare for the clay-court season and Pennetta injured, Italy will be led by Roberta Vinci, ranked No. 37, and Sara Errani, No. 43. They will be joined by Maria Elena Camerin and Alberta Brianti, who has yet to play in the Fed Cup.
"For sure, Russia is a heavy favorite if you look at the rankings," Barazzutti said. "But anyway, we'll have to play, and every match will be a different story."
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Ekaterina Makarova, also featuring in her first Fed Cup, complete Russia's team.
Zvonareva, a two-time runner-up in majors last season, warned Russia not to expect an easy pass to the final.
"The match will be a tough one," Zvonareva said. "Italy has proved to be one of the strongest teams in recent years. And though they will be without Francesca and Flavia, we will have to fight hard. They will not give up a single point."
Four-time champion Russia has recent experience in underestimating its opponents.
The team went down 2-0 after the opening singles in the quarterfinals against France in February. Kuznetsova and Pavlyuchenkova won the reverse singles and paired up to win the doubles to stage a stunning comeback win.
Russia captain Shamil Tarpischev said everything will depend on the players' current conditions.
"When the players' personal schedule is so tough and there is no time to prepare for the team competitions, everything depends on the players' current form," Tarpischev said. "Our team is higher in class, but the question of our preparedness is always the question of questions."
Russia has been unbeaten at home in nine ties since losing to France in the 2003 semifinals. The streak includes a win over Italy in the 2007 final.
Russia holds a 4-1 advantage against Italy. Both teams have dominated the Fed Cup since 2004, winning seven titles between them.
The tie will be played on a hard court set on ice at Megasport Arena, where a week later the figure skating world championships will be held.
The draw for the tie is on Friday. The winner will play either Belgium or the Czech Republic in the final on Nov. 5-6.
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