MOSCOW — What a way to make a Fed Cup debut.

Ahsha Rolle will face a massively favored opponent before a hostile crowd and with a spot in the final on the line when the United States plays defending champion Russia this weekend.

It's not a scenario that seems to bother the 145th-ranked American.

"I played top players before. So I'm confident going into the match," said Rolle, who takes on fourth-ranked Svetlana Kuznetsova in the second singles Saturday. "I'm going to do my best, and she'll do her best, and we'll see who wins."

The Americans come into the best-of-five series as huge underdogs. The top three U.S. players — Serena and Venus Williams and Lindsay Davenport — are out.

That leaves the 115th-ranked Vania King as the top player on the team, with teenager Madison Brengle as the reserve singles player. Russia, meanwhile, is fielding two top-10 players and is undefeated at home since 2003.

King will play seventh-ranked Anna Chakvetadze in the opening singles match on indoor clay at the Luzhniki indoor arena. King also opened against Chakvetadze in the 3-2 semifinal loss in Stowe, Vermont, last season.

"I remember playing her last year in Stowe," said King, who lost that match in straight sets. "But I think in the last year I really improved a lot. My confidence is much better and I'm playing much better. So I'm just going to go out there and play my game and I think I'll get a good shot."

Chakvetadze is 5-2 in the Fed Cup and scored a decisive point against Israel in a first-round match in February. She also gave Russia its first point in last season's final, beating Italy's top player, Francesca Schiavone.

In Sunday's reverse singles, Kuznetsova will play King while Chakvetadze will take on Rolle. In the doubles match, the Russian pair of Elena Vesnina and Vera Zvonareva will face Liezel Huber and King.

Huber is a top-ranked doubles player who has competed for South Africa and will be playing for the United States for the first time. Huber has won two singles and 25 doubles titles in her career, and paired with Cara Black to win the Kremlin Cup doubles title in Moscow last year.

"If you told me a year ago that I would be on this team I'd told you 'You are kidding me,'" Huber said. "I want to do my best this week. We are going to do great."

The winner of this weekend's tie will play either Spain or China in the final in September.

The United States has won a record 17 Fed Cup titles, but its last triumph came in 2000. Russia has won three titles in the last four years and has not lost at home since hosting France in 2003.

Russian captain Shamil Tarpishchev has called for his team to guard against overconfidence.

"Our press seems to think we've already won this tie," he said on Wednesday. "But you shouldn't underestimate any opponent."

U.S. captain Zina Garrison has acknowledged the Americans have only an outside chance of winning, but said the semifinal would be a good experience for a young team.

"I thought this would be a good time to bring the players who are coming up and are in developmental stages," Garrison said.