Nadia Petrova has produced a heroic effort to keep her countries dreams of a third Fed Cup triumph in four years alive. Russia have marched through to the final, which is to be played on their home soil, to do battle with Italy after both the Russians and Italians dispatched of their opponents in the fifth rubber of their respective ties.

Petrova, who displayed fantastic form at Wimbledon, came out firing for her country after Venus Williams had earlier crushed her teammate Anna Chakvetadze in a dominating straight sets win which put the USA ahead two rubbers to one. Williams, playing in her eighth Fed Cup tie, simply proved too much for the young Russian, with an overwhelmingly powerful display.

Chakvetadze admitted that she failed to capitalise on the opportunities that presented themselves.

"I started to play my tennis a little bit late, when I was down a set and 2-5," said Chakvetadze. "Against top players, if you're not playing from the beginning, if you're not showing your best tennis from the beginning, it's really tough to play. Of course it was a very important game when it was 5-4 in the second set and I had a breakpoint. I didn't use it."

The twenty year old Russian then went on to say that she just wasn't quite up to Williams' level today.

"Of course Venus, she has so much confidence." said Chakvetadze. "She played better than me today. That's it."

With the USA leading the tie 2-1, it was do or die for Petrova. She seemed unrattled by the added pressure of the situation and much to the dismay of the crowd, Petrova's experience proved far too strong for Meilen Tu in a 61 62 sixty two minute encounter.

It was Petrova again, this time combining with her young teammate Elena Vesnina who would prove to be the strongest pair under the pressure of an all-important doubles showdown, prevailing with an intensely tight scoreline of 75 76(1).

Vesnina, currently ranked 58 in the world admitted Petrova's companionship was invaluable.

"Nadia helped me, she was so confident," said Vesnina. "Our team was also so confident so this match was unbelievable, just incredible. I don't have any words to describe this match."

Meanwhile in Italy, Francesca Schiavone led her country to a second consecutive Fed Cup final after she helped transform a 2-1 advantage to France into a 3-2 victory for Italy. After French number one Amelie Mauresmo turned around a first set tiebreak loss to overcome Mara Santangelo 67 60 64, it was crunch time for Schiavone.

Schiavone came out firing to take the first set off Tatiana Golovin, but was quickly shut down when Golovin hit back to take the second comfortably and take a 5-2 lead in the third. This is when Schiavone's true fighting spirit won out, and a collapse from Golovin under the pressure of serving to put her country in a Fed Cup final allowed Schiavone an opening which she grabbed in a flash as she went on to take the match 64 26 75 and force the tie to a fifth and deciding rubber.

Schiavone again took on the responsibility of putting herself in a do or die situation, teaming up with Roberta Vinci, who earlier this year won her maiden WTA title at the Tier III Copa Colsanitas Santander tournament in Colombia. After dropping the first to the pairing of Severine Bremond and Nathalie Dechy, the Italians eventually picked themselves up and took the match 46 61 62 and with it have assured themselves of an opportunity at defending their first Fed Cup title which they picked up last year by defeating Belgium in the final 3-2.

Results:

USA v Russia

Rubber 3
Venus Williams (USA) d. Anna Chakvetadze (RUS) 61 64
Rubber 4
Nadia Petrova (RUS) d. Meilen Tu (USA) 61 62
Rubber 5
Nadia Petrova / Elena Vesnina (RUS) d. Lisa Raymond / Venus Williams (USA)

RUSSIA WIN 3 RUBBERS TO 2

Italy v France

Rubber 3
Amelie Mauresmo (FRA) d. Mara Santangelo (ITA) 67(5) 60 64
Rubber 4
Francesca Schiavone (ITA) d. Tatiana Golovin (FRA) 64 26 75
Rubber 5
Francesca Schiavone / Roberta Vinci (ITA) d. Severine Bremond / Nathalie Dechy (FRA) 46 61 62

ITALY WIN 3 RUBBERS TO 2