By Chris Oddo | Sunday February 11, 2011
Petra Kvitova’s indoor mastery continued this weekend.
So did the Czech Republic’s dominance of Fed Cup.
Kvitova sailed past Belinda Bencic 6-2, 6-4 to send her nation to a 10th consecutive semifinal and its 17th win in their last 19 ties.
The 27-year-old needed just 81 minutes to bring on the celebration for the 12,000 fans at the 02 Arena in Prague. Kvitova, who improved to 28-10 lifetime in Fed Cup singles rubbers, won the final five games of the opening set and then broke open a tight second set with a break in the seventh game. Kvitova held serve the rest of the way, cracking an ace to save a break point in the eighth game and then repeating the feat in the tenth game before closing the match out.
“I was more calm than yesterday,” Kvitova said, according to FedCup.com. “I think yesterday the crowd and the people in here threw me and I had more emotions than I did today. I knew against Belinda I had to be ready for every point because she’s in pretty good form. We were pretty tight in the first few games of each set and then when I got the break I felt a little bit better.”
The Czechs will next travel to face Germany on 21-22 April.
Germany Edges Belarus
Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Tatjana Maria edged Aryna Sabalenka and Lydziya Marozava, 6-7(4), 7-5, 6-4, to push the Germans through the semifinals over last year’s runner-up, 3-2.
Maria gave Germany a 2-1 lead with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-0 victory over Vera Lapko, but Sabalenka edged Antonia Lottner 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 to force a fifth and deciding rubber in Minsk.
Germany reaches the semis for the first time since 2015 with the victory. They will bid to reach the final for the first time since 2014.
Mladenovic Guides France to Victory over Belgium
Kristina Mladenovic and Amandine Hesse defeated Kirsten Flipkens and Elise Mertens, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to edge Belgium 3-2 in La Roche sur Yon, France. Mladenovic started Sunday by defeating Mertens in straight sets, but Belgium answered when Alison Van Uytvanck knocked off Pauline Parmentier, 6-1, 6-3, to force a doubles decider.
France reaches the Fed Cup semis for the third time in four years with the win. They will next face either USA or the Netherlands.