MOSCOW, Nov 20: Amelie Mauresmo overpowered Anastasia Myskina 6-7 6-3 6-4 on Thursday to give France a 2-1 lead in their Fed Cup semifinal against Russia.

In a gruelling baseline battle, which lasted for nearly 2-1/2 hours, world number four Mauresmo was simply too strong and too powerful for her opponent.

After three consecutive breaks of serve at the start of Thursday’s match, Mauresmo held to take a 3-1 lead.

But after a brief injury time-out at the end of the seventh game, Myskina broke back to level the scores before winning the tie-break 7-3.

But the Russian, who saved a match point before battling back for an epic win over Pierce but Mauresmo began to assert her authority on the match.

After winning the second set, the 24-year-old, urged on by a small but vocal French contingent, earned a key break in the ninth game of the deciding set to take a 5-4 lead then held to clinch victory.

Earlier Lisa Raymond steered the United States to the final by beating Belgium’s Elke Clijsters in straight sets.

Raymond won her second rubber in the tie 6-2, 6-1 in 40 minutes to give the Americans, who are chasing an unprecedent 18th title, an unbeatable 3-1 lead.

Raymond then teamed up with 47-year-old veteran Martina Navratilova who kept her unbeaten run at Fed Cup claiming her 38th victory with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Clijsters and Caroline Maes.

Semifinal results: Anastasia Myskina lost to Amelie Mauresmo 7-6 (7-3) 3-6 4-6

United States beat Belgium 4-1

Elke Clijsters/Caroline Maes lost to Lisa Raymond/Martina Navratilova 1-6 4-6; Elke Clijster lost to Lisa Raymond 2-6 1-6; Els Callens bt Meghann Shaughnessy 6-3 7-6 (7-5).—Reuters