World number one Rafael Nadal beat Russian third seed Nikolay Davydenko 6-3, 6-2 in the semifinals of the Barcelona Open on Saturday to stay on course for a fifth successive title at the Catalan event. In a repeat of last year's final, the Spanish top seed will play compatriot David Ferrer on Sunday after the fourth seed came back from a set down to defeat fifth-seeded Chilean Fernando Gonzalez 2-6, 6-2, 7-6. Nadal has only lost four times on clay since 2005, most recently to fellow Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero in the second round of last year's Rome Masters. “Tomorrow I will try to play at my best and if I manage that then I am confident of my chances,” he said. Ferrer looked well out of sorts in the opening set against the big-hitting Gonzalez but rediscovered his form to take the second with two breaks of the Chilean's serve. He was broken when serving for the match at 5-3 in the final set but recovered to win the tiebreak 7-5, clinching victory when Gonzalez netted an easy forehand. Italy leads Russia 2-0 Flavia Pennetta and Francesca Schiavone won their singles matches Saturday to give Italy a 2-0 lead against Russia in the Fed Cup semifinals. Pennetta beat Anna Chakvetadze 6-4, 6-0, and Schiavone rallied to defeat Svetlana Kuznetsova 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 on the clay courts at Nova Yardinia tennis club. Pennetta broke twice in the opening set, and lost only nine points in the second to close out the match in 67 minutes. “I didn't expect that result,” Pennetta said. Czech Republic, US tied 1-1 In the Czech Republic, rookie Alexa Glatch upset Iveta Benesova 6-1, 6-2 Saturday to draw the United States even at 1-1 with the Czech Republic after the opening singles of the Fed Cup semifinals. Petra Kvitova defeated Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-3, 7-6 (2) in the opening match on the indoor hard court at Rondo Arena. Germany 2 China 0 Germany swept the opening singles Saturday to take a 2-0 lead over China in the World Group playoffs. Sabine Lisicki upset Zheng Jie 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in the opening match and Anna-Lena Groenefeld rallied to beat Peng Shuai 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 for the second German victory in the best-of-five series on an outdoor clay court. Serbia 2 Spain 0 Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic both won their singles matches on Saturday to give Serbia a 2-0 lead over Spain in a Fed Cup World Group playoff series. Jankovic beat Maria-Jose Martinez Sanchez 6-3, 6-4 and Ivanovic rallied to beat Anabel Medina Garrigues 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 to leave Serbia one point away from reaching the World Group for the first time. Australia up 2-0 Samantha Stosur and Jelena Dokic had straight-set victories over their Swiss opponents to give Australia a 2-0 lead in its Fed Cup World Cup II playoff Saturday. Stosur beat Swiss No. 2 Amra Sadikovic 6-1, 6-2 and Dokic beat Stephanie Voegele 7-6 (1), 6-4 on grass courts at the Mildura Lawn Tennis Club.
