US Tennis apologises for Nazi-era anthem at Fed Cup match

The United States Tennis Association has apologised after an outdated version of the German national anthem that later became associated with the Nazi regime was performed before a Fed Cup match in Hawaii.

The anthem was sung Saturday before a Fed Cup quarterfinal between American Alison Riske and Germany's Andrea Petkovic. It contained a verse that translates to "Germany, Germany, above all, above all in the world," which became identified with Adolf Hitler's Third Reich.

The USTA issued a statement apologizing, saying: "In no way did we mean any disrespect. This mistake will not occur again, and the correct anthem will be performed for the remainder of this first-round tie."

Petkovic, who was born in Bosnia, told reporters after her match that she considered walking off the court as the anthem was sung.

She wrote Sunday on Twitter: "It was a mistake for which the Americans apologized to us. And again, it's not the worst that ever happened to me in my LIFE. But it is the worst that happened to me in my Fed Cup life."

After anthem mistake, US leads Germany in Fed Cup

After an outdated stanza of the German national anthem that later became associated with the Nazi regime was sung during the opening ceremonies, the United States took a 1-0 lead and was ahead in the other opening match in its best-of-5 Fed Cup quarterfinal Saturday.

Alison Riske beat Andrea Petkovic 7-6 (10), 6-2, and CoCo Vandeweghe led Julia Goerges 63, 3-1 when rain halted play.

Czechs make Fed Cup semifinals with 3-2 win over Spain

Barbora Strycova sent defending champion Czech Republic to the semifinals of the Fed Cup with a 64, 6-4 victory over Lara Arruabarrena of Spain in the second reverse singles match on Sunday.

The 17th-ranked Strycova failed to serve it out at 5-2, wasting two match points before closing out the encounter with a backhand drop shot on her fifth match point.

Her victory gave the Czech Republic an insurmountable 3-1 lead over Spain in the best-of-five firstround series.

In the final doubles match, the Spanish duo of Sara Sorribes Tormo and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez beat Lucie Safarova and Katerina Siniakova 6-3, 4-6, 10-7 to reduce the Czech victory to 3-2.

The Czechs, who have won five of the last six Fed Cup titles, will face the United States or Germany in the World Group semifinals in April.

Strycova smashed a forehand winner to get a break in the fifth game of the second set and did the same in the seventh game to build a commanding 5-2 lead.

In the opening set, Strycova wasted a set point at 5-3 before serving it out at the Ostravar Arena in the eastern city of Ostrava.

The Czech had broken for a 4-3 lead and held her following service game that took almost 12 minutes with an overhead volley.

"That was a decisive game," Strycova said.

Earlier, third-ranked Karolina Pliskova eased past French Open champion Garbine Muguruza 6-2, 6-2 in the first reverse singles to put the Czechs 2-1 ahead on the indoor hardcourt.

Pliskova won five of the six matches against her seventhranked opponent.

Big-hitting Pliskova had five aces and hit one of her 10 forehand winners to go 3-1 up in the opening set. She also got a break for a 31 lead in the second.

On Saturday, Muguruza defeated Strycova 6-0, 3-6, 6-1 in the opening singles to put Spain 1-0 ahead before Pliskova tied it at 1-1 with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Arruabarrena.

Teen Zverev beats Gasquet to win Open Sud de France title

Teen Alexander Zverev beat two-time defending champion Richard Gasquet 7-6 (4), 6-3 to win the Open Sud de France on Sunday and clinch his second career title.

The 19-year-old German's other title came last September when he beat three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka to win the St. Petersburg Open in Russia.

This time, he denied Gasquet a 15th career title.

He broke the Frenchman's serve once in each set and made the decisive break in the eighth game of the second set, before serving out the match.

The fourth-seeded Zverev was solid against the third-seeded Gasquet, winning 80 percent of his points on first serve and hitting eight aces.

Belarus completes surprise win over Netherlands in Fed Cup

With or without Victoria Azarenka, Belarus can still succeed on the tennis court.

The former top-ranked player is taking time out with her baby son, but Aliaksandra Sasnovich and Aryna Sabalenka stepped up Sunday to beat the Netherlands 4-1 in the Fed Cup quarterfinals.

Sasnovich is ranked 104 places below Dutch world No. 24 Kiki Bertens, but didn't let it show as she broke Bertens' serve seven times in a 6-3, 6-4 win.

Next up was 18-year-old Sabalenka, who dug deep to beat veteran Michaelle Krajicek 7-6 (5), 6-4 and put Belarus in the Fed Cup semifinals for the first time with an insurmountable 3-1 lead.