Serbia will face the Czech Republic in its first Fed Cup final after completing a 3-2 victory over Russia in Moscow on Sunday.
Jelena Jankovic beat Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1, 6-4 to build an unassailable lead in the tie after fending off a second-set comeback from the Russian.
In the final doubles match, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Elena Vesnina beat Serbia’s Aleksandra Krunic and Bojana Jovanovski 6-4, 6-0.
Pavlyuchenkova was a late replacement for Maria Kirilenko in that match. Kirilenko, Russia’s highest-ranked player in the tie, was withdrawn and did not play all weekend.
Reigning champion the Czech Republic booked its place in the final by beating Italy in the weekend’s other semifinal.
Jankovic took charge early in the first set as Kuznetsova racked up 22 unforced errors in seven games. The Russian mounted a comeback in the second set, breaking Jankovic’s serve for a 2-0 lead, but the Serb responded with two breaks of her own to take the set.
In Sunday’s first match, Ana Ivanovic came back from a set down against Pavlyuchenkova to win 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 and give Serbia the edge.
On Saturday, Serbia took an early lead when Jankovic beat Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 6-3, before Kuznetsova leveled the scores with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 win over Ivanovic in a clash between two former French Open champions.
Russia and Serbia’s only previous meeting came in 2008, with the Russians winning 3-2 on that occasion. Ivanovic, Jankovic and Kuznetsova all took part in that tie, while Jovanovski and Pavlyuchenkova were in their countries’ squads but did not play.
