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The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 5:48 a.m., Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Tennis: Sharapova not on Russian Fed Cup team vs. U.S.

Associated Press

MOSCOW — Maria Sharapova will not play for Russia in the Fed Cup semifinals against the United States this month.

The Australian Open champion is resting ahead of the three remaining Grand Slams and the Beijing Olympics in August, Russian Tennis Federation vice president Alexei Selivanenko said today.

Sharapova withdrew from the Sony Ericsson Open on March 22 because of a shoulder injury.

The fifth-ranked Sharapova, who played her first Fed Cup matches against Israel in February, is likely to be replaced by No. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova.

The best-of-five semifinal series will be held in Moscow on April 26-27.