Romania stun Fed Cup champions Czechs
PARIS: Romania reached the Fed Cup semi-finals for the first time on Sunday with a 3-2 win over defending champions Czech Republic as Irina-Camelia Begu and Monica Niculescu stunned Wimbledon and French Open winners Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova in a marathon doubles decider.
Begu and Niculescu triumphed 6-7 (2/7), 6-4, 6-4 in a thrilling rubber in Ostrava which lasted just seven minutes short of three hours.
The result ended the 10-time champions Czechs’ hopes of making the Fed Cup semi-finals for an 11th successive year and represented their first home defeat in a decade.
Earlier, Simona Halep won the battle of the former world No.1s with an epic 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 triumph over Karolina Pliskova, the Czechs’ highest-ranked player in the absence of world No.3 Petra Kvitova.
“I am happy to have won against such a tough opponent,” said Halep after winning her second singles of the weekend.
“It was my best and biggest win in the Fed Cup.”
Romania will now travel to France in April’s semi-finals while the other last-four clash sees Belarus up against Australia.
In Liege, Caroline Garcia crowned her comeback from a two-year Fed Cup exile by leading France past Belgium and into a fourth semi-final in five years.
French No.1 Garcia brushed aside Belgium’s top player Elise Mertens 6-2, 6-3 to follow her opening day three-set win over Alison Van Uytvanck.
At Asheville, North Carolina, Ashleigh Barty won in both singles and doubles as Australia edged the 18-time champions United States 3-2 in a tie that came down to the wire.
Barty then teamed with Priscilla Hon to beat Collins and Nicole Melichar 6-4, 7-5 in the decisive doubles.
Belarus coasted into the semi-finals when world No.9 Aryna Sabalenka defeated Laura Siegemund 6-1, 6-1 for an unassailable 3-0 lead over Germany in Braunschweig.