Ostrava, Czech Republic. It´s Fed Cup time between the Czech Republic and Italy as well as between Russia and Serbia.

Lucie started into the first rubber with a fantastic win against Francesca Schiavone. 7-6 6-1 was the final score. Petra Kvitova will take on Sara Errani in the 2nd rubber.

Sunday´s matches are scheduled as follows (but it can be changed)
Petra Kvitova – Francesca Schiavone
Lucie Safarova – Sara Errani

HLAVACKOVA / HRADECKA – ERRANI/SCHIVANONE

Following an interview of Lucie about her semifinal and the tournament:

On beating Polona Hercog in the semifinals, 60 60…
“I would never have expected that going on court because I still remember playing Polona at Roland Garros two years ago and I lost, 62 61. I felt destroyed. This morning I spoke to my coach and was like, ‘Okay, I’m better this year, and I should just go for it.’ I was really concentrating throughout the match and trying not to let go. And it went 60 60, which was amazing. It’s also good for me to save some energy because I’ll need it tomorrow for sure.”

On the tactical keys to winning her semifinal…
“I knew Polona prefers her forehand, so I was trying to build up the game through the backhand and then attack the forehand. I knew she would slice a lot and try to get me out of my rhythm, so I was trying not to rush my game, just slowly build it up and always keep pressuring her, and it was working.”

On her season coming into Charleston…
“I had a quiet start to the season. It was disappointment at the Australian Open, but it was a very windy day and Christina McHale played very well, so that was the only down part of the season. I had a great tournament in Doha, and Indian Wells was good too, so I built my way up. I’ll keep doing my best.”

On her week so far in Charleston…
“I grew up on clay. And green clay is even faster, so it’s even better for me maybe than red clay. It’s tough to say it’s the best week of my career – I have had some great wins here, but I also played the finals indoors in Paris twice, and the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. But it’s one of my best weeks, for sure. To play the singles and doubles finals is a player’s dream.”

On playing Serena in the final…
“To play Serena is always a great challenge. She’s a great player. I was watching her match today against Sam, and she was playing very solid, very good. I’m really looking forward to it. I’ve never beaten her, but we’ve had some tough matches in the past, and I play well here. I feel good and I’ll try to win.”

Today is the time for the Semifinal against Polona Hercog. Polona said the following about the match: “Lucie’s obviously a very good player and is very fit, and she’s a very nice girl, too, You just have to go into the match and you have to believe. I’ll try to mix up my game and let the best player win tomorrow.”

But Lucie is not just on the courts in singles. Also in doubles she advanced to the semifinals. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Lucka bet the number 3 seed team Sania Mirza and Elena Vesnina 6-7 7-5 10-7.
In the semis they will face  number 1 seed Liezl Huber and Lisa Raymond.

Lucie is not only playing singles, in the doubles competition she and her partner Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova received a wild-card. In the first round they beat Russian Vera Dushevina and Marina Erakovic from New Zealand 63 67(10) 11-9.

In the 2nd round they will face Sania Mirza and Elena Vesnina.

Lucie  is seeded on position 23, that means that she got a  Bye in the first round. In the next she will face Austrian Tamira Paszek. Both played twice against each other and it´s 1-1 so far.

The BNP Paribas Open is one of the highest tournaments on the tour and has a 96 singles draw. Lucka is not competing in the doubles competition.

In the 2nd Round she will face number 4 seed Sam Stosur. The australian had a first round bye. This match will be played on wednesday!

“I was impatient in the first set but then it came together,” Safarova said. “I started keeping the ball in play more and pushing her to her forehand. Then when I got the chance, I was killing the ball. That was a good tactic for me.

“Caroline is a big fighter, getting everything back from every position, so you have to be very consistent and choose the right moments to attack.”

“I had three match points in the third set and didn’t take them. Lucie served three very good serves,” Wozniacki said. “Of course it’s very disappointing right now but I need to move on and try to do better in the next one.”

The pair had split their two previous meetings, Safarova winning on the clay of Stuttgart in 2010 and Wozniacki winning indoors at Copenhagen in 2011. Now Safarova is 2-1 in the head-to-head and collected her sixth Top 5 victory.

“It’s always like this – when you are a top player, every player who comes to play you has nothing to lose,” Safarova said. “We watch each other and we know their strengths and weaknesses, and we try to apply the tactics.

“She was also playing her first match and I had a match already. It’s good to have a match in the bag at a tournament because each tournament is a little bit different – the surface, surroundings. But I think we both played well today.”
In the next round Lucie is going to face Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, who is seeded number 14.

Lucie and Ana opened the WTA Tournament of the year. The first set between them was pretty tight but Lucka won it 7:6. In the 2nd set she used more chances and beat Ana 7:6 6:2.

In the 2nd Round Lucie will face the winner between Vera Zvonareva and Svetlana Kuznetsova (both Russia).

Lucie and Vera could not just face each other in the 2nd round but they will team up for the doubles competition. They received a wildcard and their first round opponents are Vera Dushevina (RUS) and Nuria Llagostera Vivez (ESP).

2012 season has started already earlier this week. Lucie started into the season in Brisbane, the next tournament will be Sydney before going to play at the first Grand Slam of the Season: Australian Open.

To see Lucie´s tournament schedule up to Miami please click here.

Click here to see the latest answeres.