Maria Sharapova defeated Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska in Sunday's opening match to book Russia's spot in the Fed Cup semifinals.
The five-time Grand Slam champion Sharapova beat Radwanska by a 6-1, 7-5 margin to give Russia an insurmountable 3-0 lead in the best-of-five tie.
Sharapova, coming off her runner-up finish to Serena Williams at the Australian Open, won the first set in 33 minutes. She jumped out to a big lead in the second set before Radwanska fought back to level it at 5-5. However, Radwanska fell short and lost her second match of the weekend following a three-set loss to Svetlana Kuznetsova on Saturday.
The 27-year-old Sharapova entered Sunday's match with an 11-2 record against Radwanska.
Russia will face either Australia or Germany in a semifinal in April.
The singles match between Urszula Radwanska and Kuznetsova was scrapped. The doubles match features a Russian tandem of Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Vitalia Diatchenko versus a Polish duo of Klaudia Jans-Ignacik and Alicja Rosolska.
Russia is a four-time Fed Cup champ, claiming each of its titles from 2004-08.
[SportsNetwork.com]
