Tennis: Dechy stuns Russian

Nathalie Dechy stunned US Open tennis champion Svetlana Kuznetsova 3-6, 7-6, 8-6 in the opening singles of the Fed Cup tennis final in Moscow yesterday to give champions France a 1-0 lead against hot favourites Russia.

Dechy, the highest-ranked non-Russian player at number 21, battled back in the second set to force a tie break, which she won 7-4.

In the decider Dechy broke the serve of a visibly frustrated Kuznetsova to love in the 13th game before wrapping up victory after two hours 25 minutes.