Kuznetsova steers Russia to third triumph

Russia won their third Fed Cup title in four years yesterday when Svetlana Kuznetsova saved two match points in a second-set tiebreaker before beating Italy's Francesca Schiavone 4-6 7-6 7-5 in the first reverse singles.

Kuznetsova's victory gave the home team an unassailable 3-0 lead over last year's surprise winners Italy in the Moscow final.

Russia eventually won the two-day tie 4-0. Elena Vesnina stepped in for world number five Anna Chakvetadze to beat Italy number two Mara Santangelo 6-2 6-4 in the dead singles rubber before the two teams decided to cancel the doubles match.

Heavy favourites Russia had enjoyed a commanding 2-0 lead after day one when Kuznetsova and Chakvetadze both won their singles.

Kuznetsova, who crushed Santangelo 6-1 6-2 on Saturday, had to dig deep to pull off the win against the combative Schiavone in a see-saw battle that lasted two hours 45 minutes.

"It was much harder than I expected," Kuznetsova, who was suffering from an abdominal muscle strain, told a news conference.

"I couldn't serve 100 per cent but I'm very glad to pull this off. But you also have to give credit to Schiavone, who was running well and returning almost everything. She played very well, better than I expected of her."

The Russian said she had a personal point to prove by leading her team to victory.

"It was my second Fed Cup final and, although we won in 2004, it was Anastasia Myskina who won it for Russia as I lost both of my matches," she said.

"This time, I was our number one player, I knew my team was counting on me, I was very motivated to win and I'm glad I came through in the end. This is a much more satisfying victory for me than in 2004."

Despite the defeat, Schiavone was satisfied with her effort. "I gave everything I had but just couldn't pull it through in the end," she said.

Last 10 finals

2007 Russia bt Italy 4-0; 2006 Italy bt Belgium 3-2; 2005 Russia bt France 3-2; 2004 Russia bt France 3-2; 2003 France bt US 4-1; 2002 Slovakia bt Spain 3-1; 2001 Belgium bt Russia 2-1; 2000 US bt Spain 5-0; 1999 US bt Russia 4-1; 1998 Spain bt Switzerland 3-2.