PALERMO, Italy (AP) — Roberta Vinci put Italy into the Fed Cup final, beating Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-3 Monday in a series postponed a day because of rain.
Vinci gave Italy a 3-1 lead in the best-of-five playoff against the defending champion. The match was played before a sparse crowd, with most visiting fans having traveled home Sunday.
Italy will play for the championship in November against Russia, which defeated Slovakia in Sunday’s other semifinal.
Vinci recovered from a 5-3 deficit in the second set to serve for the match at 6-5. Safarova broke back to force the tiebreaker, which she dominated. Vinci then broke for a 5-3 lead in the third set before winning on her third match point.
The final doubles match was canceled.
