Stuttgart: Petra Kvitova and Karolina Pliskova won their opening singles matches to give the Czech Republic a 2-0 lead over Germany in their Fed Cup World Group semi-final on Sunday.
Kvitova defeated Julia Goerges 6-3, 6-2 and Pliskova spent a few anxious moments to tame former world No. 1 Angelique Kerber 7-5, 6-3.
Goerges lasted only an hour with 23 unforced errors against the 10th-ranked Kvitova, who dropped just two points on her serve in the second set and converted four of five break points. It was Kvitova’s 29th singles match win in the Fed Cup.
The 10-time champion Czechs have a 7-1 head-to-head record over their hosts. The Germans’ only win came in 1987 when Steffi Graf was part of the team that beat Czechoslovakia 2-1 in the World Group semi-finals in Vancouver. Ashleigh Barty breezed past Quirine Lemoine in straight sets to level Australia’s Fed Cup World Group play-off tie at 1-1 with the Netherlands after Samantha Stosur was upset in the opening rubber.
The 19th-ranked Barty crushed the 295th-ranked Lemoine 6-0, 6-2 after the number 58, Stosur fell 7-5, 7-6 (7/1) to Lesley Kerkhove — ranked 210 — on the hard court in Wollongong.
Australia are bidding to win their way back into the World Group for the first time since 2015, while the Netherlands are trying to prolong their three-year stay in the top tier.
The reverse singles will be played on Sunday, with Barty facing Dutch number one Kerkhove, followed by Stosur against Lemoine.
Barty and Stosur will pair in the doubles for Australia against the Dutch duo Demi Schuurs and Indy De Vroome.
