Fed Cup: Romania dethrones Czech Republic. France and Belarus march on
Romania has stayed on the course for the first Fed Cup title, prevailing against the Czech Republic 3-2 in Ostrava to set the semi-final clash against France. The 11-time champions the Czech Republic hadn't lost a home Fed Cup tie since 2009 when the USA stole the triumph in Brno and they will not be among the semi-finalists for the first time since 2008. As was expected, Karolina Pliskova and Simona Halep claimed victories on Saturday to keep the rivals locked up and it was the Romanian who toppled the Czech today 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 in two hours and 37 minutes to push Romania in front.
This was the seventh win for Simona over Karolina in nine matches, suffering six breaks from as many chances she gave to the Czech but creating 20 opportunities on the other hand, converting seven of those to emerge as the winner. The match kicked off with back-to-back breaks and it was Halep who earned another one in game nine when Pliskova sprayed a forehand error, realizing the fifth set point in the following game for a 6-4. Karolina forged a 4-1 lead in the second set, serving for the set at 5-3 but losing serve at 15 after a deep return from Simona who had a huge chance to make a complete comeback when she created three break points at 5-5.
Pliskova fends them off, landing a backhand down the line winner to bring the game home and securing the set with a late break in the next game for a 7-5 and more drama on the horizon. Servers lost their focus in the third set a little bit, with five breaks in the first eight games, three for Halep who could have completed the match on the return at 5-3. Karolina saved a match point to prolong the encounter but that was all she could do, allowing Simona to seal the deal with a hold at 15 in game ten, firing a service winner in the last point to push Romania 2-1 up before the remaining rubbers.
Katerina Siniakova played with a lot of pressure on her back but she managed to outplay Mihaela Buzarnescu 6-4, 6-2 in an hour and 26 minutes, leveling the score at 2-2 before the doubles rubber that had to decide the winner of this outstanding tie. After almost three hours, Irina-Camelia Begu and Monica Niculescu prevailed against Katerina Siniakova and Barbora Krejcikova to propel Romania over the finish line, wasting a 4-2 lead in the deciding set before winning eight of the last nine points for a huge celebration.
In Liege, Caroline Garcia and Alize Cornet put France in a commanding position on Saturday against Belgium before Garcia presented the third point today, ousting Elise Mertens 6-2, 6-3 in 77 minutes for the tenth singles rubbers wins in 14 Fed Cup matches, setting the semi-final clash against Romania. Belarus is the third away squad that clinched the semi-final berth on Sunday, toppling Germany 4-0 in Braunschweig after a swift 6-1, 6-1 win for Aryna Sabalenka over Laura Siegemund in an hour and 19 minutes. Aryna never lost serve and she scored five breaks from nine chances to grab her eighth Fed Cup singles win before Victoria Azarenka and Lidziya Marozova won a tight doubles clash for a clean sweep.
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2Du0CHV
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