MOSCOW (AP) Belarus secured its place in the World Group of the Fed Cup for the first time when Aliaksandra Sasnovich rallied to beat Russia's Margarita Gasparyan 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 on Sunday and build an unassailable 3-1 lead in the series.
Belarus' Victoria Azarenka, the world No. 5, also needed three sets to dispatch 18-year-old Darya Kasatkina 6-2, 5-7, 6-3.
Russia, a finalist last year, was trying to maintain its spot in the World Group after a surprise first-round defeat to the Netherlands in February. It was playing this weekend without its Fed Cup stalwart Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Kasatkina and Azarenka won their first matches Saturday. A first for the current Fed Cup format, Belarus played in the 1994 World Group under a different version of the competition, then called the Federation Cup.
