MOSCOW(AP) Defending champion Russia secured a spot in the Fed Cup semifinals by completing a 5-0 rout over China on Sunday.
Anna Chakvetadze defeated Yan Zi 6-1, 6-2 in the first reverse singles Sunday to give Russia an insurmountable 3-0 lead after Svetlana Kuznetsova and Elena Dementieva won the opening singles Saturday, beating Yan and Zhang Shuai, respectively.
Russia's 19-year-old rookie Alisa Kleybanova then defeated Sun Tiantian 6-1, 6-1, and Dementieva paired with Kuznetsova in doubles to beat Chinese duo of Yan and Sun 1-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Russia will travel to Italy on April 25-26.
Chakvetadze substituted for Dementieva, who was originally drawn to play the first reverse singles.
I was a bit nervous today because it was very important for me today to win to support my teammates' success on Saturday,'' Chakvetadze said.And I also had problems with my serve.''
Russia has won four Fed Cup titles in the past five years and hasn't lost at home since hosting France in 2003.
China, which was swept 5-0 by Russia in their only previous meeting, in Beijing in 2002, is without Zheng Jie, the 2008 Wimbledon semifinalist, and Li Na due to injuries and had only three players available for the best-of-five series.