MOSCOW, Nov 28: Russia won the decisive doubles rubber on Sunday for a 3-2 victory against the defending champions France to win the Federation Cup for the first time.

Vera Zvonareva and Anastasia Myskina beat the French pairing of Marion Bartoli and Emilie Loit 7-6 (7-5) and 7-5 in the doubles to give the Russians their first victory in their fifth appearance in a final.

After Tatiana Golovin had beaten Svetlana Kuznetsova in the fourth rubber to tie the match at 2-2, Russia changed its original doubles line-up, taking out Elena Likhovtseva and replacing her with Myskina, who won both her singles matches.

In the first rubber of the morning, Roland Garros champion Anastasia Myskina managed a 6-3, 6-4 win against Nathalie Dechy to give the home side a 2-1 lead. U.S. Open winner Kuznetsova, who is ranked fifth in the world, could then have won the tie for Russia, with a victory against Tatiana Colovin.

The Moscow-born world number 27 however managed to keep her adoptive country in the tie with a convincing 6-4, 6-1 victory. -dpa