Russian players (From L-R) Anna Chakvetadze, Elena Vesnina and Maria Sharapova jump for joy after compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated Italian Francesca Schiavone to give the Russians an unassailable lead in their Fed Cup tie in Moscow on Sunday.Photo: AFP

Russia won their third Fed Cup here on Sunday after world number two Svetlana Kuznetsova battled back from a set down to beat Italy's Francesca Schiavone, giving the hosts an unassailable 3-0 lead.
Kuznetsova, 22, won 4-6, 7-6 (9/7), 7-5 in two hours 44 minutes, clinching her seventh win in nine head-to-head meetings with Schiavone.
Elena Vesnina then forced the cancellation of the scheduled doubles rubber when she cruised to a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Italy's Mara Santangelo to put the hosts 4-0 up.
"I was really too nervous today, especially at the beginning," Kuznetsova said. "But later I managed to settle down and find my rhythm. I'm so happy to win!"
She added: "Francesca played very well today. Probably it was her best match in recent years. But our fans' and my teammates' support helped me a lot to win.
"And I feel I was slightly better physically prepared for today's match."
Schiavone, 27, took advantage of Kuztnetsova's shaky start to clinch a one-set lead in 44 minutes, and her confidence continued until early in the second set during which grabbed an early break and raced to a 3-1 lead.
That proved the signal for Kuznetsova's fightback, and the Russian moved up a gear to break back in the sixth game to level at three games all. Schiavone broke again in the seventh for a 5-3 advantage.
But Kuznetsova levelled the scores again at 5-5, forcing a tiebreak which she won after surviving two matchballs to level at one set all after one hour 49 minutes on court.
In the deciding set Kuznetsova's precision returned, and she sealed the set and the match on her first matchball.
Schiavone suggested after the match that the scores did not truly reflect Italy's all round performances.
"Of course the score is 3-0 now but we were really close," said the Italian.
"There were two three-setters and we had certain chances to win."
She added: "I did a good job today. Not great, but really good. I was very focused and enjoyed every point."
Kuznetsova admitted she had played with the pain of sore abdominal muscles.
"I've been in pain in recent days, and that hit my service power," said Kuznetsova, this year's US Open finalist.
"But I battled through it. I knew the team needed me as Nadia (Petrova) was unable to play here because of her leg injury."