Venus Williams wins; U.S. tied with Russia

Stowe, VT (Sports Network) - Venus Williams battled back in the first and third sets to defeat Nadia Petrova in three sets on Saturday to help the U.S. draw even with Russia in the semifinal showdown between the United States and visiting Russia after the first day of their Fed Cup semifinal matchup at Stowe's Stadium at Topnotch.
Williams, the 2007 Wimbledon champion, trailing 3-4 in the second, came back to with the next three games and walk away with a 7-6, 0-6, 6-4 win.
For the match, Petrova converted on 3-of-3 break points, while Williams was 0-3.
Earlier of Saturday, Russia's Anna Chakvetadze defeated U.S.'s Vania King 6-1, 6-3.
On Sunday, the reverse singles will pit the six-time major titlist Williams against Chakvetadze and King versus Petrova, while the potentially-deciding doubles calls for an American tandem of King and Lisa Raymond to battle a Russian duo of Petrova and Elena Vesnina.
Former world No. 1 stars Serena Williams, of the U.S., and Russian Maria Sharapova and fourth-ranked Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova all pulled out of this week's semi due to injuries, leaving Venus as the biggest star on either roster.
The Americans are captained by Zina Garrison, while the Russians are skippered by Shamil Tarpischev. Garrison also has Meilen Tu at her disposal, while Tarpischev's roster also includes Alla Kudryavtseva.
The United States leads all nations with 17 Fed Cup titles, with the last coming seven years ago.
The U.S. and Russia have met five times in Fed Cup play, with the Americans leading the all-time series 4-1. Russia won the most recent matchup, however, defeating the U.S. in the 2005 semis on the way to its second consecutive -- and second-ever -- Fed Cup crown.
The USA-Russia winner will meet the France-Italy victor in the World Group final in mid-September.