Venus Williams overcame a terrible second set to beat Nadia Petrova 7-6, 0-6, 6-4 on Saturday and give the United States a tie against Russia in the opening singles Saturday at the Fed Cup semifinal in Towe of Vermont, United States.
Earlier Saturday, Anna Chakvetadze gave Russia a lead by dominating Vania King 6-1, 6-3.
Two more singles matches will be played Sunday, and if necessary a deciding doubles match will follow.
The winner meets the winner of the other semifinal between Italy and France for the championship in September.
Williams rallied in both the first and third sets. Petrova appeared set to give Russia a 2-0 lead when she broke Williams' serve to take a 4-3 lead in the final set, but Williams won the final three games.
The United States has dominated this series with 17 championships since it began in 1963, but has not won since 2000. Russia, which has become a dominant force in women's tennis, won in 2004 and 2005.
Source: Xinhua
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