Fed Cup World Group semifinals and World Group Playoff matches kick off Saturday, with the powerhouse Serbia vs. Russia semifinal taking the main spotlight.

Serbia will front two former No. 1s in Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic, while Russia counters with former world No. 2 Svetlana Kuznetsova, and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova appearing in her fifth tie.

The other World Group semifinal is the Czech Republic vs. Italy. Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova and Lucie Safarova for the Czechs go up against a deep Italian team featuring Francesca Schiavone, Flavia Pennetta, Roberta Vinci and Sara Errani.

World Group Playoff matches to see who gains berths into the 2013 World Group will be the U.S. and Serena Williams at the overidingly underwhelming Ukraine, Belgium with no Top 200 players in attendance at Japan, the Slovak Republic at underdog Spain, and Australia at Germany.

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Filed under: Tennis
Tags: Ana Ivanovic, Fed Cup, Jelena Jankovic, Petra Kvitova, Serena Williams, Svetlana Kuznetsova