The primary group of the Fed Cup is set for a thrilling Sunday showdown with three out of the four clashes ending level at 1-1 on the first day.
Defending champions Czech Republic had their dream start spoiled by French Open champion Garbine Muguruza. Muguruza fired 25 winners on route to a roller-coaster 6-0, 3-6, 6-1, win over Barbora Strycova. Towards the closing stages of the match, it was the intensity of the Spanish player that overwhelmed her opponent.
“My serve was ridiculous today, which played a big role because I was under pressure much of the time,” Strycova told the public Czech TV.
Karolina Pliskova reignited the hopes of her home crowd by downing Lara Arruabarrena 6-4, 7-5, in just under 90 minutes. The US Open runner-up was utilizing the use of her serve to her advantage, winning 81% of service points.
Both Muguruza and Pliskova will be carrying the expectations of their country when they face each other on day two. Czech captain, Petr Pala, admitted that the meeting will be an open match. Nevertheless, Pliskova has won their four most recent meetings since 2015.
“We are going to have two top-10 players, two players with big ground-strokes and big serves. It will be a big match and we look forward to it. It’s a very open tie.” Pala told fed cup.com.
Timea Bacsinzky and Kristina Mladenovic ensured that Switzerland’s clash with France ended on even grounds. World No.18 Bacsinszky required over two hours to defeat Alize Cornet 7-5, 6-4, in the opening match. The Swiss No.1 managed to convert five out of her 14 break point opportunities and impressively won 92% of her second service points (23/25).
“The whole match was pretty tight. We were playing amazing tennis and you are going to get some amazing points when you play each other.” Said the Swiss player.
“I’m proud I managed to be aggressive and it paid off.” She added.
France, who reach the Fed Cup final last year, managed to get revenge when an error-stricken Mladenovic defeated Belinda Bencic 6-3, 6-4. Despite producing 22 unforced errors, the world No.31 dropped her serve only once throughout the 80-minute match.
Continuing the trend of the level playing field was Belarus’ meeting with the Netherlands in Minsk. The two Fed Cup underdogs saw a dramatic comeback by the away team. Belarus got off to a solid start when Aliaksandra Sasnovich outlasted Michaëlla Krajicek 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. The host team was then on the verge of a 2-0 lead when Aryna Sabalenka had a match point in the second set against Kiki Bertens. World No.142 Sablenka failed to hold her nerve as Bertens battled her way back to triumph 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-4.
#BLRNED Relive the moment @kikibertens defeated #Sabalenka and drew 🇳🇱 level in the #FedCup World Group first round tie with 🇧🇾 pic.twitter.com/YTmW9pJ3iI
— Fed Cup (@FedCup) 11 February 2017
