Spain dominated Serbia to win their World Group II Fed Cup tie 4-0. Going into the second day with a 2-0 lead, Garbine Muguruza wrapped up a 6-3, 6-4 win against Jelena Jankovic to secure victory before Lara Arruabarrena and Lourdes Dominguez Lino went on to win the dead doubles rubber.
Muguruza Secures the Tie
Muguruza came into the match against Jankovic boasting a 2-1 head-to-head lead and recovered from an early break deficit to romp ahead to a 5-2 lead. Jankovic struggled to score behind her own serve and was often overwhelmed by her opponent's power in losing the opening set.
Knowing that she had to win this match in order to keep the tie alive, the 30-year-old started strong in the second set going up a break again at 2-0. However, just as in her first match against Carla Suarez Navarro, the world number 19 couldn't sustain her efforts. The 22-year-old Spaniard broke back again as Jankovic continued to make uncharacteristic errors but was hard pressed to hold serve in the crucial eighth game of the match. The world number five had to survive a deuce game as the Kraljevo crowd supported their home player. However, after failing once again to capitalise on her opportunity, Jankovic faded in the last two games of the match as Muguruza wrapped up the tie with a 6-3, 6-4 win.
Though Jankovic was celebrating her landmark 50th Fed Cup match, the former world number one failed to show her experience during the weekend and was often at her most brittle when it mattered most.
In contrast, Muguruza shone this weekend despite her discouraging recent appearance in Australia. The Spaniard maintains her unbeaten record in Fed Cup singles matches in booking Spain's place in the World Group I Playoffs later this year.
In the dead doubles rubber, the more experienced doubles pairing of Lara Arruabarrena and Lourdes Dominguez Lino rubbed salt into the wounds by beating the teenage pairing Ivana Jorovic and Nina Stojanovic in an epic, 4-6, 7-6(6), 10-7.