BARCELONA, Spain (AP) - Agnieszka Radwanska beat Silvia Soler-Espinosa to give Poland the first point of its Fed Cup World Group playoff against Spain on Saturday, only for sister Urszula Radwanska to surrender a one-set lead and lose to Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor.
With the series at 1-1, the return singles and doubles match will decide the tie Sunday.
Third-ranked Agnieszka eased to a 6-2, 6-2 win over Soler-Espinosa in the opener on the outdoor red clay court at the Estadio Olimpico in Barcelona.
Agnieszka saved five break points to hold serve at the start of the second set and went on to finish the match in 1 hour, 11 minutes.
Torro-Flor started slowly but then roared back to beat Urszula Radwanska 4-6, 6-0, 6-1, overcoming nine double faults by hitting 43 winners.
Spain captain Conchita Martinez lauded Torro-Flor’s powerful forehand, the key to her turnaround.
“The acceleration is remarkable,” Martinez said. “If she works a little more in always being in good positions with her legs, her potential I think is big.”
Torro-Flor will play Agnieszka Radwanska on Sunday.
“With that forehand you can give problems to everybody,” Martinez said. “The thing is Agnieszka is going to bring back the ball a lot more than Urszula did.”
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