AFP/Prague


Fed Cup holders Czech Republic took a 2-0 lead in their semi-final against France after Lucie Safarova battled back from the brink of defeat to win the opener before Petra Kvitova won the second singles yesterday.
The 13th-ranked Safarova saved five match points in the second set before beating 29th-ranked Caroline Garcia 4-6 7-6(1) 6-1 in front of a boisterous crowd at Ostrava’s CEZ arena before Kvitova swept aside Kristina Mladenovic 6-3 6-4.
Safarova struggled for form in losing the first set and was in trouble in the second but Garcia could not finish off the Czech lefty who stormed back to take the set in the tiebreak. The Czech served well to wrap up the victory in the third with Garcia looking tired and putting up little resistance. “It was a very tough match,” Safarova said. “She played very well at the beginning but I always believed I could turn it around.”
Next up was fourth-ranked Kvitova who made quick work of Mladenovic and showed no signs of rust from a two-month break as she dispatched her 58th-ranked French opponent in straight sets.  After tomorrow’s reverse singles, Karolina Pliskova and Barbora Strycova are expected to team up to face Alize Cornet and Pauline Parmentier in doubles.

Pavlyuchenkova puts Russia 2-0 up against Germany
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova battled back from a set down to defeat Sabine Lisicki as Russia took a comfortable 2-0 lead over Germany in the world group semi-final. Svetlana Kuznetsova earlier beat Julia Goerges 6-4, 6-4 at the red clay court of Adler Arena as four-time champions Russia edged closer towards the final.
The 23-year-old Pavlyuchenkova won 4-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 in two hours 28 minutes to record her second win over Lisicki, who is 19th in the WTA rankings, in as many meetings.
“It was a very hard match,” Pavlyuchenkova said.
“I feel worn out but I’m really happy to give my team this win today. After winning the second set in the tiebreak I was stoked and it helped me to start the deciding set pretty well.”
Germany’s 25-year-old broke twice to her opponent’s once to snatch the opening set in 42 minutes. Pavlyuchenkova, 38th in the world, started the second set with an immediate break for a 2-0 lead but Lisicki broke back in the 10th game to level at 5-5.
But in the tiebreak that followed, the Russian was more precise and levelled at one set all.
In the deciding set, Pavlyuchenkova moved up a gear, breaking twice from the start for a comfortbale 4-0 lead before Lisicki chalked up her first game in the set, also with a break.

Returning Hingis loses after courageous effort
Fifteen-times grand slam champion Martina Hingis made a courageously impressive return to big-time singles tennis in the Fed Cup yesterday but was eventually outplayed by Agnieszka Radwanska.
Hingis was persuaded to play her first tour-level singles for nearly eight years because of injuries in the Switzerland team for the World Group playoff encounter against Poland.
The 34-year-old brought back memories of her heyday in a thrilling 48-minute first set before capitulating 6-4 6-0 to world number nine Radwanska after 76 enjoyable minutes.
Smiling a lot and clearly enjoying the experience of being back in the spotlight against a player with a similarly attractive style, Hingis played some exhilarating tennis early on but her effort eventually took its toll. Half a step slower in the second set, she could only win 11 points as Radwanska upped her game.