Kuznetsova defeated Yan Zi 6-2, 6-4, and Dementieva stopped Zhang Shuai 6-3, 6-0 on a hard court at Olympic indoor stadium. A win on Sunday would advance Russia to the Fed Cup semifinals.
"Our main task was not to relax too much,'' said Dementieva, who improved her Fed Cup record to 23-8. "We were considered favorites ahead of the match and luckily we managed to keep our concentration throughout the matches.''
The reverse singles and doubles are scheduled for Sunday. The winner will play France or Italy on April 25-26.
Russia has won four Fed Cup titles in the past five years and hasn't lost at home since hosting France in 2003.
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