CLEVELAND (AP) - Karin Knapp and Camila Giorgi won the opening singles matches to give Italy a 2-0 lead over the United States on Saturday in their Fed Cup quarterfinal.
Knapp beat Christina McHale 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 in the first match at Cleveland Public Auditorium, and Giorgi routed Madison Keys 6-2, 6-1 in the second.
Since World Group play began in 1995, the United States is 0-10 after falling behind 0-2.
The quarterfinal winner will face the Spain-Czech Republic winner in the semifinals in April.
McHale, ranked No. 62 in the world, appeared to gain control after closing out the second set by winning three straight games to break a 3-3 tie. But The 40th-ranked Knapp dominated the third set.
“In the third set, I changed a little bit my game because in the second set, I was playing too much cross-court,” Knapp said. “I changed a little bit up and I think this was the difference.”
McHale had won her last four Fed Cup matches.
In the second match, the 84th-ranked Giorgi dominated the 37th-ranked Keys.
“She was playing really well today, and there’s not much I can do when someone’s playing like that,” Keys said.
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