Anastasia Myskina did not let a thigh injury or a late substitution stop her from giving Russia a chance to defend their Fed Cup title.

Myskina posted a 6-2 6-4 victory over Jill Craybas to clinch the semi-final tie against the United States on Sunday.

The victory gave the Russians an insurmountable 3-1 lead and advanced them to the final for a rematch with France on September 17-18.

It also marked the first time in five tries that Russia have beaten the US in a Fed Cup tie.

The US have won the Fed Cup 17 times - more than any other nation - but last won the title in 2000 and were without Lindsay Davenport and Serena Williams for this semi-final.

Craybas was a last-minute substitution by US captain Zina Garrison, who opted for the veteran over Mashona Washington, who lost her first career Fed Cup match against Elena Dementieva on Saturday. But Craybas was no match for Myskina, who is ranked 10th in the world.

The 2004 French Open champion, Myskina was cruising with a 3-0 lead in the second set when she began to experience pain in her left thigh. After holding serve for a 4-2 lead, Myskina received treatment and then lost the next two games.

However, Myskina then broke Craybas, who knocked out Williams in the third round of Wimbledon, and held serve to close out the match.

Earlier, Venus Williams bounced back from a disappointing loss on Saturday with a 6-1 6-2 victory over Dementieva to pull the Americans within 2-1.

After winning Wimbledon last week, Williams was beaten by Myskina 5-7 6-4 6-2 in Saturday's first match. Dementieva followed with a win over Washington to give Russia a 2-0 lead.

Williams needed just one hour, four minutes to beat Dementieva on Sunday.

She won four straight games in the first set to take a 5-1 lead and won four of the first five games of the second set.

"It was difficult to find energy after playing for so many weeks and coming off Wimbledon," Williams said. "I definitely was not at my best. This was disappointing for the whole team."

Vera Douchevina and Dinara Safina beat Williams and Corina Morariu in doubles 6-1 7-5 to complete Russia's 4-1 victory.

Amelie Mauresmo clinched France's semi-final over Spain with a 6-3 6-1 victory over Nuria Llagostera Vives in the first singles match at Aix-en-Provence on Sunday.

Mauresmo, who extended her unbeaten streak in this tournament to 15 straight matches, and Mary Pierce moved France to a 2-0 lead on Saturday. Mauresmo defeated Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-4 6-3 and Pierce followed with a 6-3 6-3 triumph over Vives.

After Mauresmo's clinching victory on Sunday, Pierce did not play in the second singles match.

Instead, Severine Beltrame of France filled in and was beaten by Arantxa Parra-Santonja 6-4 6-4.

France ended up with a 3-1 victory when the meaningless doubles match featuring Nathalie Dechy and Beltrame against Medina Garrigues and Maria Sanchez Lorenzo was suspended in the first set due to rain.