Schiavone leads off for Italy in Fed Cup

Schiavone will go against 26th-ranked Alona Bondarenko in Saturday's first match of the best-of-five series. Bondarenko's sister Kateryna, ranked No. 33, meets 12th-ranked Flavia Pennetta in the second singles match.

The players switch opponents for singles matches Sunday with a doubles match pitting Italians Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci against Ukrainians Mariya Koryttseva and Viktoriya Kutuzova as the fifth, and possibly deciding, match.

The Fed Cup quarterfinal is scheduled for an indoor hard court in Kharkiv.

The winning team advances to the semifinals in April against either the Czech Republic or Germany.

Ukraine is playing in the Fed Cup World Group for the first time. Italy won its second Fed Cup title in four years with a finals win over the United States in 2009.

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