Chakvetadze will start the final encounter between the teams with an opening rubber against Italy's No.1 Francesca Schiavone. The game will be followed by a match between this year's U.S. Open runner-up from Russia, Svetlana Kuznetzova, and Italy's Mara Santangelo.
Both pairs will exchange their opponents in Sunday's matches, and the day will be closed by a doubles match between Nadia Petrova/Elena Vesnina from Russia and Mara Santangelo/Roberta Vinci from Italy.
The Russian team reached the final of the 2007 Fed Cup, the unofficial world women's tennis team championship, after a tough 3-2 semifinal victory over the United States, which hosted the encounter July 14-15.
According to a poll conducted by the Fed Cup official Web site, Russia is the favorite to win the final in the Russian capital, with 76% of over 4,400 respondents voting for the Russian squad, which won the Fed Cup in Moscow in 2004 and in Paris in 2005.
The Russian team (earlier - U.S.S.R.) and Italy have met three times in the Fed Cup, with Russia winning all previous encounters.
