LIEVIN, France (AP)—Teenager Melanie Oudin won her two singles matches to lead the United States to a 4-1 victory over France and give her team a spot in the Fed Cup semifinals.

Oudin overcame Julie Coin 7-6 (3), 6-4 in just over two hours Sunday to give the Americans an unassailable 3-0 lead.

“I was a little nervous in the beginning,” Oudin said. “She definitely stepped up her game when she came out on court and served some really great service games. There wasn’t much I could do in the beginning, besides staying in there with her.”
 
Pauline Parmentier then beat Christina McHale of the United States 6-4, 6-4 before Liezel Huber and Bethanie Mattek-Sands defeated Frenchwomen Stephanie Cohen-Aloro and Alize Cornet 6-2, 6-3 in the final doubles.

“I’m so proud of my team,” U.S. captain Mary Joe Fernandez told the Fed Cup’s official Web site. “They really competed hard and practiced so well during the week and they had a great chemistry.”

The U.S. will next face Russia on April 24-25 while France will need to win a playoff to stay in the World Group.

“Russia is the toughest team to play because they have so much depth,” Fernandez said.

The 18-year-old Oudin broke Coin in the fifth game of the second set and clinched the match when the Frenchwoman shanked a forehand.

Oudin had saved two break points at 5-5 in the first to force the tiebreaker, where she hit three straight winners to close out the set.

“I ended up playing a really good tiebreaker and, after three-all, some of the best points of the match,” Oudin said.

Oudin also beat Parmentier 6-4, 6-4 on Saturday.

Cornet had been scheduled to face Oudin on Sunday but France captain Nicolas Escude decided to replace her with Coin after the Frenchwoman admitted she struggled with her nerves against Mattek-Sands in the opening singles Saturday. Mattek-Sands rallied from 5-2 down in the first to win in straight sets, giving Cornet her sixth loss in six Fed Cup singles matches.

“I don’t have much to hold against Julie,” France captain Nicolas Escude said. “I told her yesterday evening that she would replace Alize. She (Coin) got off to a great start but things didn’t go her way.”

Both teams missed their best players. Serena and Venus Williams skipped the event while France played without Marion Bartoli, Aravane Rezai and Virginie Razzano.

Escude hoped in the future that the top French players could join the team.

“Aravane could not integrate the team for this series,” Escude said. “But we rely on her for the next round. We won’t necessarily stake everything on Aravane’s shoulders. But it can ease things a bit if we can count on the best players.”

The U.S. improved its record against France to 11-1 in Fed Cup play.