Russia, Serbia split singles, tied 1-1 in Fed Cup

MOSCOW — Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated Ana Ivanovic 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 Saturday to tie Serbia 1-1 after opening singles in the Fed Cup semifinal.

Jelena Jankovic won the opener for Serbia by defeating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 6-3.

Serbia has reached the semifinals of the tournament for the first time. Russia, a four-time champion, has beaten Serbia in all three previous meetings. But the team is without two top players: Maria Sharapova and Vera Zvonareva.

In Sunday's reverse singles, Pavlyuchenkova will face Ivanovic, while Kuznetsova will play Jankovic. In the doubles, the Russian pair of Maria Kirilenko and Elena Vesnina will face Bojana Janovski and Aleksandra Krunic.

The winner of the matches will play either defending champion Czech Republic or Italy in the final on Nov. 3-4.