the scoop: SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 27

Fed Cup: Dechy shocks Kutzy; Myskina survives Golovin
Russia, France knotted at 1-1

Susan Mullane/Camerawork USA

Nathalie Dechy conquers Svetlana Kuznetsova in the Fed Cup final in Moscow on Saturday.

It took a gutsy effort from team leader Anastasia Myskina to pull Russia back from the brink of disaster on Saturday. The Roland Garros champion fought off a spirited effort by 16-year-old Frenchwoman Tatiana Golovin 6-4, 7-6 (5) in the second match of the Fed Cup final at the at Krylatskoye Ice Palace in Moscow.

French veteran Nathalie Dechy pulled off one of the biggest wins of her career in the opening contest, outlasting US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova 3-6, 7-6 (4), 8-6.

Kuznetsova committed 77 unforced errors and was beside herself. "Everyone is fighting hard against me after the US Open," Kuznetsova said. "I knew it would depend only on me to win or lose this match."

Despite having its top player Amelie Mauresmo withdraw from the tie a week prior to the event and having French No. 2 Mary Pierce sidelined with a shoulder injury, defending champion France has not let dropped its intensity level. The athletic Dechy had bested Kuznetsova last January and clearly knew that if the Russian didn't' zone early, she could counterpunch her into submission.

Kuznetsova failed to serve the match out in the second set and double faulted on many key points. Dechy's Herculean task took two hours and 25 minutes, but she was still successful.

"I knew she was going to go for her shots. She is very powerful and I knew she would play hard. I knew what to expect so it wasn't hard for me to keep my rhythm," said Dechy. "They are the favorites and they have the higher rankings, but we felt we still had a chance to win, so we are going to go for this one."

As expected, the talented Golovin came out firing against Myskina, but when push came to shove, it was Russia's favorite brunette who was able to trip up her foe. Myskina had to save four set points serving at 5-6 in the second set and came back from 1-4 down in the tiebreak.

"I was a bit nervous because I hadn't played Tatiana before. I didn't know what her weaknesses and strong points were," Myskina said. "She played good tennis, but you have to show consistency and not play great tennis just one day a year."

On Sunday, Myskina will open against Dechy and then Kuznetsova will face Golovin. Russian captain Shamil Tarpischev said he's not considering pulling Kuznetsova for Vera Zvonareva. "[Svetlana] will either play a really great match tomorrow or really badly," he said.

Russians Elena Likhovtseva/Zvonareva are scheduled to play doubles against Marion Bartoli/Emilie Loit, but if the singles is locked at 2-2, it wouldn't be surprising to see the Russian sub in Kuznetsova for Zvonareva, as she is Likhovtseva's regular doubles partner. French captain Guy Forget may opt for the more experienced Dechy over Bartoli as well.