By Gennady Fyodorov

Russia, seeking their first Davis Cup victory over the United States, comfortably won both singles matches on Friday to take a 2-0 lead in their semi-final.

Marat Safin thumped Andy Roddick 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 on the Moscow clay before Mikhail Youzhny beat James Blake 7-5, 1-6, 6-1, 7-5 to put the hosts just one win away from the final.

The Americans won both their previous meetings with Russia, including the 1995 Moscow final on a similar surface.

"Hopefully we can also win the doubles tomorrow and finish the tie in two days," a confident Safin said after his victory.

Despite facing a huge uphill battle on their least favourable surface, the Americans were also upbeat.

"In most tournaments you don't get a second chance - in Davis Cup you do," said Roddick. "This isn't over by any means."

What was billed as a battle between the two former world number ones turned into a mismatch after Safin broke Roddick's formidable serve four times. The big-hitting Russian also fired 17 aces, 10 more than his opponent.

"He just played much better than I did," Roddick conceded.

Urged on by a partisan home crowd, Safin broke the US Open finalist in the seventh game to clinch the first set after 32 minutes.

He then broke Roddick twice to take the second and went on to serve for the match at 5-3 in the third - only for Roddick to break back and force a tiebreak.

But after going down 5-2 in the tiebreak, Safin won the next five points to seal a deserving victory.

"I didn't want to go into the fourth set, I wanted to finish it in three and save myself some energy," he said.

Youzhny also had the upper hand against eighth-ranked Blake on a slow surface at Moscow's Olympic Sports Complex.

"It's always easier to play being up 1-0, so Marat's victory has helped me to relax and feel more comfortable on the court," said Youzhny, who clinched Russia's maiden Davis Cup title in 2002.

In December's final, the winners will face either Argentina or Australia, who are contesting the other semi-final in Buenos Aires.