BELGRADE, Serbia (AP)—Jelena Jankovic rallied from a set down and 1-4 in the second to beat Alisa Kleybanova 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 to put Serbia level with Russia at one win apiece after the opening singles Saturday in their Fed Cup quarterfinal.
Earlier, Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Ana Ivanovic 6-1, 6-4 to give Russia a 1-0 lead.
“Trailing 1-4 in the second set, I decided to take more risks and switch to an all-or-nothing mode,” Jankovic said after winning 11 consecutive games against Kleybanova.
“I struggled until the middle of the second set, but when I started playing, she could not stop me,” the former top-ranked Jankovic said after she completed the win.
“I completely lost the control of the match midway in the second set,” Kleybanova said. “She simply started playing much better and I could do nothing to stop her.”
French Open champion Kuznetsova rallied from 4-2 down in the second set before sealing the win with a smash on match point.
“Even while trailing in the second set, I never thought I could lose this match,” Kuznetsova said. “I didn’t think it would be so easy in the first set.”
The former top-ranked Ivanovic struggled with her serve and accuracy throughout the match. She finished with 50 unforced errors and six double faults.
“I had my chances in the second set, but psychology played a big part in the final outcome,” Ivanovic said.
Ivanovic has dropped to the 23rd in the WTA rankings after a string of poor results since she won the French Open in 2008.
Reverse singles and the final doubles match are scheduled for Sunday in the best-of-five series played on a hard court at Belgrade Arena.
Russia, which has won four of the last six Fed Cup titles, is without top players Dinara Safina, Maria Sharapova and Elena Dementieva. Serbia is playing for the first time in the World Group.
The winner will take on France or the United States in the semifinals in April.