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Sharapova likely to join national squad if Russia reaches 2015 Federation Cup final

The set of semifinal matches between Russia and Germany is scheduled for April 18-19 and will be held in Russia’s Black Sea resort city of Sochi

Maria Sharapova EPA/JULIAN SMITH

Maria Sharapova

© EPA/JULIAN SMITH

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Tennis player Maria Sharapova maintains WTA No. 2 ranking

MOSCOW, February 26. /TASS/. Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova has tentatively agreed to play for the national squad at the 2015 Federation Cup final in case the team clears the semifinal matches in April, Vladimir Kamelzon, the head coach of the Russian national team, told TASS on Thursday.

The set of semifinal matches between Russia and Germany is scheduled for April 18-19 and will be held in Russia’s Black Sea resort city of Sochi. Sharapova misses the semifinal encounters as she will be vying for her fourth consecutive champion’s title at the WTA tournament in Germany’s Stuttgart between April 20 and 26.

"We have a tentative agreement," Kamelzon said. "But first of all we need to defeat the German team."

Russia is currently leading 3-1 the record of head-to-head meetings between the two nations, however it was the German squad, which won 3-2 their latest encounter in 2002. Earlier in the month the German team breezed past the Australians 4-1 to clear the quarterfinals and take a spot in the semifinals.

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Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova named Athlete of the Year by US Sports Academy

World No. 2 Sharapova needs playing for the national team in order to qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro. In the quarterfinal encounter against Poland earlier this month, when Russia blasted their opponents with 4-0 victory, Sharapova played two games winning both in straight sets.

In another semifinal meeting of the 2015 Federation Cup the Czech team will be hosting home the team from France.

Last month Sharapova was only a notch from her another Grand Slam title after she reached the final of the Australian Open, but lost the title match to her long-standing US opponent Serena Williams.

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Tennis Maria Sharapova

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