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 AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France (AP) - Amelie Mauresmo helped France reach the Fed Cup final for the third straight year, defeating Spain's Nuria Llagostera Vives 6-3, 6-1 Sunday in the clinching victory.
France won 3-1 and will face Russia for the title for the second straight year, but this time the French will be home for the Sept. 17-18 final. The Russians ousted the United States 4-1 in Moscow in the other semifinal.
Mauresmo, a Wimbledon semifinalist, put France ahead 3-0 in the Fed Cup semis. In the second reverse singles, Arantxa Parra-Santonja beat Severine Beltrame 6-4, 6-4 to give Spain a point. Doubles in the best-of-five event was abandoned because of rain, with Anabel Medina Garrigues and Maria Sanchez Lorenzo leading Mauresmo and Mary Pierce 2-1.
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