Fed Cup: Pliskova, Halep, Sabalenka, Sasnovich and Garcia score wins
In one of the most anticipated Fed Cup ties of the weekend, the Czech Republic and Romania are tied at 1-1 in Ostrava after expected wins from Karolina Pliskova and Simona Halep. Pliskova took down Mihaela Buzarnescu 6-1, 6-4 in an hour and 25 minutes for her 11th Fed Cup singles win. Buzarnescu wasted all three break points and she couldn't defend serve in the way she would want, struggling on the second serve and getting broken three times from seven chances she offered to the Czech. Karolina erased two break points in the opening game of the match and she never looked back in the rest of the set, breaking in game two and firing a forehand down the line winner at 3-0 to extend the lead.
Pliskova closed the set with a service winner in game seven but she had to work harder in set number two, with Buzarnescu staying in touch until 4-4. The Romanian sent a backhand long to lose serve in that ninth game and Karolina delivered the opening point with a forehand winner in the following game to put the Czech Republic in front. In the second rubber, Simona Halep defeated Katerina Siniakova 6-4, 6-0 in an hour and 12 minutes to keep Romania in contention before the super exciting Sunday's action. Both players struggled on the second serve and Simona made the difference with the first, facing only one break point and stealing rival's serve five times to cross the finish line first.
The Romanian grabbed a break at the beginning of the match, opening a 5-2 lead with a forehand down the line winner and sealing the set with a service winner at 5-4 ten after losing serve two games earlier. Halep was the only player on the court in the second set, winning all six games and forcing an error from Siniakova at 5-0 to cross the finish line and score the 17th Fed Cup singles triumph. Belgium is hosting France in Liege and the away team has won both singles matches on Saturday, with Alize Cornet beating Elise Mertens 7-6, 6-2 in grueling two hours and nine minutes after another tight win delivered by Caroline Garcia over Alison Van Uytvanck in three sets to put France in commanding position.
In Braunschweig, Belarus is one win away from taking the overall triumph away from Germany following straight sets wins for Aliaksandra Sasnovich and Aryna Sabalenka who dominated against Andrea Petkovic. Aryna needed 68 minutes to topple Andrea Petkovic 6-2, 6-1 and she is the favorite against Tatjana Maria on Sunday as well, seeking the second victory of the weekend and the place in the semi-final.
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2DpdM99
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