Williams sisters to play in Federation Cup

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., June 27 (UPI) -- Serena and Venus Williams have agreed to play for the U.S. team in next month's Federation Cup semifinal against Russia.

The Williams sisters will be joined by doubles specialist Lisa Raymond and Vania King for the series, July 14-15 in Stowe, Vt. The same foursome defeated Belgium, 5-0, in the previous Fed Cup round.

The format is two singles matches followed by a doubles match and then reverse singles. Whichever team wins three matches advances.

"Venus, Serena, Lisa and Vania are committed to continuing their success as a team," U.S. captain Zina Garrison said. "Russia is certainly a formidable opponent and we look to play our very best tennis in front of a loud, patriotic crowd in Stowe."

The U.S. team leads Russia, 4-1, in Fed Cup meetings and owns 17 Fed Cup titles. However, the Americans haven't won the overall title since 2000.

The winner of the Russia-U.S. semifinal will play the winner of the semifinal between France and Italy.