Russian seeds Svetlana Kuznetsova, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Maria Kirilenko also went through, with the latter to face Canada's Aleksandra Wozniak after eliminating Australia's Jarmila Gajdosova.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

In the absence of world No.2 Sharapova and 10th-ranked Zvonareva, Russian captain Shamil Tarpishchev has turned to two-time grand slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, as well as Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Maria Kirilenko and Elena Vesnina.

CNN: Fed Cup: Serbia makes history in first semifinal showdown

But Kuznetsova's compatriot, 10th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenko, was knocked out of the tournament by Kazakhstan's Ksenia Pervak .

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS