/world sport
BEIJING, China -- Spain and Russia quickly wrapped up Fed Cup semifinal victories by taking winning 3-0 leads on Sunday.
Llagostera said that Spain's team spirit was the basis of their comfortable victory over China.
Spain's Nuria Llagostera Vives beat Peng Shuai of China 6-4 6-4 to seal victory in Beijing while Vera Zvonareva's 4-6 6-3 6-2 win over American Vania King clinched Russia's win in Moscow.
"We knew we could win but we never expected to finish the first day 2-0 up and to be 3-0 up on the second day but we worked for this all week," Llagostera said.
"We have been very focused and we knew what we had to do to win every match. Our team spirit was one of the reasons for the victory."
Team captain Miguel Margets Lobato said he believed the Spanish were capable of going on to lift the Fed Cup. "No matter what our former glories are, we are putting in a lot of effort now and we don't give up. We will not be afraid of the Russian team. We play with passion and will have a chance to win."
Spain did not lose a single set in the first three matches of the semifinal.
Llagostera, ranked 76, broke Peng in the third game on her way to taking the first set in 43 minutes. She broke again in the third game of the second set but Peng immediately drew level. Llagostera responded well and broke again to take a 4-3 lead which paved the way for victory.
In the final singles match of the tie, Zheng Zie pulled one back for China, beating Carla Suarez Navarro 7-6 6-3, but in the doubles Llagostera and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez thrashed the Chinese pairing of Peng and Olympic doubles gold medallist Sun Tiantian 6-2 6-1.
Meanwhile, Zvonareva had to dig deep to defeat King to give holders Russia an unassailable advantage.
"It was my first match this season on the clay," Zvonareva said. "I'm happy to win this deciding point as I haven't played in the Fed Cup for a very long time. It was really tough to be out there as King was playing really good today."
A break in the ninth game helped the 19-year-old American take the opening set in 36 minutes -- but 14th-ranked Zvonareva broke in the sixth game of the second, then broke again for a 3-1 lead in the decider.
Zvonareva broke once more in the seventh game to seal the victory.
The United States made the scoreline more respectable by winning the final two 'dead' rubbers to give the Russians a 3-2 victory. E-mail to a friend 
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