Russia's Fed Cup captain Shamil Tarpishchev said Tuesday he is still hopeful that top players -- Maria Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova -- will be available for April's Fed Cup semi-final against Slovakia.
"I need to study the playing schedules of our girls before starting to plan the line-up for the match with Slovakia," Sport Express daily quoted Tarpishchev as saying.
"Of course Sharapova would strengthen our team a great deal, but we should never forget about her personal interests. We must try to minimise any losses for those who are battling for the top places in the rankings."
Russia's top player Sharapova has played just three Fed Cup ties in her career so far, making her debut in 2008 to help satisfy Olympic Games qualification criteria.
After playing again in 2011, she also featured in the quarter-final win over Spain in 2012 in the run-up to the London Games.
Tarpishchev said that Sharapova had expressed her desire to play for Russia in this season's Fed Cup campaign, and that he had been keen to call her into his squad for the later stages of the competition.
"If Masha (Sharapova) has a relatively simple tournament schedule ahead without a series of top-class events in America we will call on her," he said.
"But otherwise the trans-Atlantic flights and time zone changes can seriously harden the battle for the top spot in the WTA rankings. We're not going make her life even tougher."
Tarpishchev said he had an agreement with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Vera Zvonareva, who had both said they were available to play for Russia this season, adding that he could also call Kuznetsova into his team if need be.
"It was very important for Svetlana (Kuznetsova) to improve her individual ranking at the beginning of the season and she asked me to release her from playing against Japan," Tarpishchev said. "She wants to be in the world's elite and we definitely respect her desire."
AFP
Tue Feb 12 2013
Ambil pengajaran ziarah Bukit Uhud
Patuh kepada pemimpin, ketua antara pengajaran diambil jemaah haji Malaysia semasa membuat ziarah luar di Bukit Uhud di Madinah di mana dalam konteks semasa, kepatuhan kepada pemimpin berupaya memastikan segala urusan berjalan lancar.
Kejayaan calon PH bukti semangat kekitaan yang erat dalam Kerajaan Perpaduan - Ahmad Zahid
"DAP banyak bantu calon BN dalam PRK sebelum ini, tidak salah jika UMNO membalas budi yang telah ditabur oleh mereka."
Kemenangan PH di KKB ‘tripple happiness’ buat Kerajaan Perpaduan - Fahmi
Kemenangan Pakatan Harapan pada PRK Kuala Kubu Baharu disifatkan sebagai triple happiness atau kegembiraan tiga kali ganda buat Kerajaan Perpaduan.
Pemimpin UMNO perlu teroka pendekatan baharu - Ahmad Zahid
Pemimpin UMNO juga perlu menjadi peneraju dalam pemikiran rakyat bagi mengekang fitnah yang dilemparkan oleh pihak tertentu.
Emir Kuwait bubar Parlimen yang dipilih sebulan lalu - Dekri
Emir Kuwait, Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, pada petang Jumaat mengeluarkan dekri membubarkan Parlimen yang dipilih pada awal April.
Perak berjaya tanam semula 7.88 juta pokok setakat ini - MB
Perak tanam 7.88 juta pokok setakat ini melebihi sasaran enam juta yang ditetapkan kerajaan Persekutuan melalui Kempen Penanaman 100 Juta Pokok 2021-2025.
Pulau Pinang sasar tarik 150,000 bakat dalam lima tahun akan datang
Pulau Pinang komited untuk memupuk persekitaran yang kondusif terhadap inovasi teknologi.
Angkasa sedia bantu PIBG sekolah rendah tubuhkan koperasi
Angkasa bersedia membantu kira-kira 7,780 PIBG di peringkat sekolah rendah kebangsaan seluruh negara bagi menubuhkan koperasi.
RM7 juta diperuntukkan naik taraf 38 tamu desa di Sabah - Ewon
Peruntukan berkenaan adalah untuk pelaksanaan fasa pertama Projek Tamu Desa di negeri itu.
Angka korban hujan ribut, banjir di Afghanistan cecah lebih 330
Di wilayah Baghlan saja, lebih 300 maut dan lebih 1,000 kediaman dilaporkan musnah.
Rusia tagih khidmat Sharapova, Kuznetsova untuk Fed Cup
Kapten pasukan tenis Fed Cup Rusia, Shamil Tarpishchev masih mengharapkan pemain ternama Rusia, Maria Sharapova dan Svetlana Kuznetsova akan beraksi dalam perlawanan separuh akhir Fed Cup.