Zvonareva will be joined by 14th-ranked Svetlana Kuznetsova, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (21) and Ekaterina Makarova (39) for the April 16-17 tie in Moscow, the RTF said on its website (www.tennis-russia.ru).
Zvonareva replaces former world number one Maria Sharapova, who looked sluggish in Russia’s 3-2 quarter-final home win over France in February when she lost her first singles match and was replaced for the reverse rubber the following day.
Russian Vera Zvonareva overcame a whipping desert wind on Sunday to dethrone Ana Ivanovic at the Indian Wells Masters, overcoming the frustrated holder 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 for the title
The match was played in desert gusts which sent sand through the air and made holding serve a challenge. A total of 19 break points were up for grabs in the unpredictable conditions. There was only one ace served in the two-hour battle.
The Moscow semi-final will be played at a specially-built indoor court laid on top of an ice rink at the 14,000-seat Khodynka arena.
