U.S. face holders Russia in Fed Cup semis

LA JOLLA, California -- Lindsay Davenport and Ashley Harkleroad scored singles victories to defeat Germany on Monday to earn the U.S. women a Fed Cup semifinal showdown against holders Russia.

Davenport defeated 115th-ranked German substitute Julia Goerges 6-1 6-2 and Harkleroad then downed 19-year-old Sabine Lisicki 6-4 7-5 to give the hosts an unassailable 3-1 lead.

Rain washed out play on Sunday, delaying the decisive matches by 24 hours after Saturday's opening singles were shared.

Harkleroad broke for the third time in the second set on Monday to seize a 6-5 lead on an errant forehand by Lisicki -- she upset Davenport on Saturday -- and held serve for the U.S. to advance.

The Russians, powered by Australian Open winner Maria Sharapova, eliminated Israel 4-1 in a tie that concluded on Sunday.

China will meet Spain in the other Fed Cup semifinal tie. The Chinese edged an under-strength France 3-2 at Beijing thanks to a decisive doubles win while the Spaniards ousted hosts Italy 3-2 after taking the first three matches.

German captain Barbara Rittner selected Goerges to face Davenport instead of 92nd-ranked Tatiana Malek, who had been 4-0 in Fed Cup play before Harkleroad trounced her 6-1 6-3 on Saturday to pull the Americans level.

Lisicki shocked Davenport 6-1 7-5 in Saturday's opening match. It was only the third loss for Davenport in 28 Fed Cup singles matches.

Davenport, who last played for the U.S. squad in 2005, returned to the WTA in September after missing 11 months while giving birth to her first child and has gone 19-2 with three titles in her comeback.

The US team is seeking an 18th Fed Cup crown but has not won the title since beating Spain on home soil in 2000.

Former champions Italy will host Ukraine in April in World Group playoffs for the Fed Cup.

Italy was ousted by Spain 3-2 in the first round this year. The Italians beat Belgium 3-2 to win the 2006 title and lost 4-0 in last year's final.

France, the 2003 champion, were drawn to play in Japan. France went down to China 3-2 in the opening round.

Argentina will host Germany, who lost to the United States in the first round, and the Czech Republic will travel to Israel.

Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic guided Serbia to a win over Romania in zonal qualifying and will next play at Croatia for a chance reach World Group II in 2009.

Also in World Group II playoffs, Austria host Switzerland, Belgium travel to Colombia and Slovakia host Uzbekistan.

The best-of-five series for both playoff groups is April 26-27, the same time as the semifinals when Russia host the United States and Spain play in China. E-mail to a friend