Zvonareva puts Russia into Fed Cup finals

Zvonareva, who was a last-minute replacement for Svetlana Kuznetsova, dropped the opening set in the first reverse singles match on Sunday, but rallied to best King, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, in just under two hours.

The Russians will travel to Spain for the final in September, following Spain's win over China.

In the other reverse singles match on Sunday, Russian star Anna Chakvetadze downed Ahsha Rolle, 6-4, 7-5, in a dead rubber.

Saturday, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Chakvetadze put the reigning-champion Russians in perfect position to attempt a repeat with straight-set victories over the young, unproven Americans.

Chakvetadze, the seventh ranked player in the world, was far too powerful for 115th-ranked King, breaking the American in the fifth game of the first set and rolling to a 6-4, 7-5 victory. In the other rubber, the United States Open runner-up Kuznetsova made quick work of Rolle, downing the young American in her Fed Cup debut, 6-2, 6-1.

The 17-time champion Americans were captained by Zina Garrison, who was in her last year as the skipper, while the powerful Russians are guided by Shamil Tarpischev, who also captains the Russian Davis Cup team.

The U.S. played without any of its top performers, including former top-ranked stars Venus Williams, Serena Williams and Lindsay Davenport, all of whom made themselves unavailable this week. None of the Americans who played this week are ranked inside the WTA Tour's top 100.

Russia, which is now 3-4 versus the U.S. in Fed Cup play, has won three of the last four Fed Cup titles, while the U.S. hasn't captured the chalice since 2000. The Russians topped Italy in last year's finale.

Fed Cup is the world's largest annual international women's team competition, with 86 countries competing this year.