Russia v Spain Venue: Olympic Stadium Location: Moscow, Russia Surface: Indoor hard With ten players currently ranked inside the Top 100, Russian captain Shamil Tarpischev has a wealth of talent at his disposal and for this tie he’s selected Maria Sharapova to lead the singles line-up alongside the dependable Svetlana Kuznetsova. Sharapova showed that she’s back to her best during her fine run at the Australian Open. Tarpischev’s opposite number, Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, who became one of the most decorated ever Fed Cup players during the 1990s when she led Spain to five titles, takes charge of her first tie having stepped into the shoes of long-term servant Miguel Margets. The new captain is missing her top ranked player, Anabel Medina Garrigues, which puts added pressure on the shoulders of Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez. These two nations are meeting for the seventh time with Russia holding a 5-1 lead in their head-to-head series. The Russians have won the last two fixtures, in 2007 and 2008, but before that their three previous wins came when they played under the combined Soviet Union flag. Spain’s lone victory was in 1989. Russia Maria Sharapova Svetlana Kuznetsova Nadia Petrova Ekaterina Makarova Shamil Tarpischev (captain) Spain Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez Carla Suarez Navarro Arantxa Parra-Santonja Nuria Llagostera Vives Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario (captain)