STUTTGART, April 22, 2018

The Czech Republic books its spot in the final of the Fed Cup by BNP Paribas for the sixth time in the last eight years after Petra Kvitova won the second reverse singles rubber against Angelique Kerber 6-2, 6-2 at the Porsche Arena in Stuttgart.

The Czechs came into Sunday with a 2-0 lead and Kvitova clinched the third and decisive point, showing an impressive performance against the former World No. 1. The 28-year-old from Bilovec sent down seven aces and capitalized on five of her six break point chances to prevail after only 58 minutes.

“I knew I had to start very strong today and continue that throughout the game. From the beginning of the match I knew I had all the weapons,” Kvitova told after her 30th Fed Cup rubber victory.

“Everyone knows that if Petra plays well and she has her rhythm she is tough to beat,” Kerber said. “That’s why she has won two Grand Slams and why she has been at the top of the game for such a long time.”

Görges storms past Pliskova

Earlier in the day, Julia Görges had kept Germany’s hopes alive, beating Karolina Pliskova 6-4, 6-2. The World No. 11 was aggressive right from the beginning, hitting 18 winners to finish the encounter in only 58 minutes.

“Every time it feels exciting and we are happy to be in the final. Maybe I (would prefer) France, USA you never know they have some great players but any team in the final has great players,” Kvitova commented about the Czechs opponent in the final, hosting either France or the United States.

Katerina Siniakova and Barbora Strycova won the final dead doubles rubber against Julia Görges and Anna-Lena Grönefeld. The Czechs were leading 7-5 when the German team retired.

“I feel relieved,” Czech captain Petr Pala said. “It was a very tough tie. It was an outstanding performance from each of the (singles) winners. … The tennis was unbelievable.”

Photo Gallery (by Thomas Schulte)