Tallahassee: The United States stunned the Czech Republic 3-2 to advance to the final of the Fed Cup tennis tournament, setting up a match-up with unexpected finalists Belarus.
The US team defeated the Czech, the three-time reigning Fed Cup champions, in the semi-finals at the Saddlebrook Resort here on Sunday, reports Efe.
Belarus upset Switzerland 3-2 in a semi-final tie played in Minsk.
US Fed Cup captain Kathy Rinaldi said: “We`re just looking forward to it. We`re going to be there, we`re going to be a team, we`re going to have each other`s back and we`re going to compete. These girls take great pride in representing the US and it`s a special week to be in the final.”
CoCo Vandeweghe rolled to a 6-4, 6-0 win over Katerina Siniakova in the first rubber on Sunday, giving the US a 2-1 lead.
Marketa Vondrousova, a 19-year-old playing in her first Fed Cup tie for the Czech Republic, knocked off Lauren Davis 6-2, 7-5, making the doubles match the decider for a spot in the final.
The duo of Vandeweghe and Bethanie Mattek-Sands came through for the US, cruising to a 6-2, 6-3 win over Kristyna Pliskova and Katerina Siniakova to book a spot in the final.
“It was an amazing day as a team and it shows that every point counts in this event,” Vandeweghe said. “We all came together when it mattered most and that`s what you expect out of a Fed Cup tie.”
The US has an overall 150-38 record in the Fed Cup, which started in 1963, and a 42-8 match record in home ties.
“We`ve been very fortunate to have two home ties, but that`s what Fed Cup is all about,” Rinaldi said, referring to the away final.
The Fed Cup final will be played in Belarus on November 11-12.
Source: Zee News