Safarova beats Ivanovic in Fed Cup final

The Czech Republic\'s Lucie Safarova beat Serbia\'s Ana Ivanovic 6-4, 6-3 in the first Fed Cup final rubber here on Saturday to give the holders a 1-0 lead. Safarova, the world number 17 and Czech number two, needed an hour and 41 minutes to sink world number 12 Ivanovic on the hardcourt of Prague\'s O2 Arena. Ivanovic, a former world number one, never found the pace to match her left-handed rival, making 32 unforced errors against Safarova\'s 18. Serbian number one Ivanovic was broken twice in both sets, letting Safarova improve her head-to-head winning streak to four victories. \"The key was to shake off the nervous feeling. I was improving through the match,\" Safarova said just after the game. The turning point she added came \"in the first set when I broke her and took a 5-2 lead.\". In the second rubber on Saturday, Czech number one Petra Kvitova, who is recovering from a cold that forced her to pull out of the WTA Championship last week, will face Serbia\'s number two Jelena Jankovic.