Americans book Russia date

Americans Lindsay Davenport and Ashley Harkleroad won their respective singles rubbers on Monday to give the US women a first-round Fed Cup victory over Germany and a semifinal date with Russia.
Davenport defeated 115th-ranked German substitute Julia Goerges 6-1, 6-2 and Harkleroad then downed 19-year-old Sabine Lisicki 6-4, 7-5 to give the American hosts an insurmountable edge and a doubles victory completed a 4-1 tie triumph.
Davenport and Lisa Raymond defeated Tatiana Malek and Anna-Lena Gronefeld 6-2, 6-0 in 41 minutes in the doubles dead rubber.
Rain washed out play on Sunday, delaying the decisive matches to Monday after a 1-1 split in Saturday's opening encounters.
Harkleroad broke for the third time in the second set to seize a 6-5 lead on an errant forehand by Lisicki, who upset Davenport on Saturday, and held serve for the US to advance into April's semifinals against title holders Russia.
The Russians powered by Australian Open winner Maria Sharapova, eliminated Israel 4-1 in a tie that concluded on Sunday.
China will meet Spain in the other Fed Cup semifinal tie. The Chinese edged France 3-2 at Beijing last weekend thanks to a decisive doubles win while the Spaniards downed hosts Italy 3-2 after taking the first three matches.
German captain Barbara Rittner inserted Goerges to face Davenport on Sunday instead of 92nd-ranked Tatiana Malek, who had been 4-0 in Fed Cup play before Harkleroad trounced her 6-1, 6-3 on Saturday to pull the Americans level.
Lisicki shocked Davenport 6-1, 7-5 in Saturday's opening match. It was only the third loss for Davenport in 28 Fed Cup singles matches.
Davenport, who last played for the US squad in 2005, returned to the WTA in September after missing 11 months while giving birth to her first child and has gone 19-2 with three titles in her comeback.
The US team is seeking an 18th Fed Cup crown but has not won the title since beating Spain on home soil in 2000. The Germans, who fell to 4-8 against the US women, have not taken the trophy since 1992.