Svetlana Kuznetsova powered past Carla Suarez Navarro on Saturday to give Russia a 2-0 lead in a Fed Cup quarterfinal against Spain.
Kuznetsova prevailed 6-3, 6-1, the same scoreline as when the two met in the 2008 final in Madrid, which Russia won 4-0.
Earlier, Australian Open finalist Maria Sharapova put the hosts 1-0 up by beating world No. 77 Silvia Soler-Espinosa 6-2, 6-1, with a scrappy performance.
"Today I played a good match, and I was pretty relaxed," Kuznetsova said, adding she had trouble acclimatizing to Russia after spending a month in Australia.
"The acclimatization made me feel very weird. I felt weird in practice but [captain] Shamil Tarpishchev said I should try."
Suarez Navarro, the world No. 55, said she found her opponent too powerful. “Sveta’s a very difficult player," she said. "There were times when I had chances and I didn’t use them.”
After putting up something of a fight in the first set, Suarez Navarro’s resistance crumbled in the second as Kuznetsova visibly moved up a gear.
The reverse singles on Sunday pit Sharapova against Suarez Navarro, while Kuznetsova takes on Soler-Espinosa.
The final rubber will be a doubles match between Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova and Nadia Petrova and the Spanish pair of Arantxa Parra-Santonja and Nuria Llagostera Vives.
Russia has not lost a rubber against Spain in two Fed Cup ties, including the 2008 final, which Russia won 4-0 in Madrid. Kuznetsova, Makarova, Llagostera Vives and Suarez Navarro all played in that match.
