US draws level with Czechs at 2-2 in Fed Cup

BRNO, Czech Republic — Teenager Alexa Glatch kept the United States in the Fed Cup semifinals against the Czech Republic on Sunday, winning her second singles match of the weekend to bring the Americans to 2-2 in the best-of-five series.

The 19-year-old Glatch, playing in the Fed Cup for the first time, beat Petra Kvitova 6-2, 6-1. In the first reverse singles match, Lucie Safarova put the Czechs ahead by beating Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-3, 6-1.

The series will be decided later Sunday in the doubles, with Iveta Benesova and Kveta Peschke facing Liezel Huber and Mattek-Sands. The winner will face Italy in the Nov. 7-8 final. The Italians defeated defending champion Russia.

The U.S. has won a record 17 Fed Cup titles but its last came in 2000. The Americans last reached to the final in 2003.

Glatch broke Kvitova twice in the opening set to lead 5-1 and converted her first set point when the Czech double-faulted in the eighth game.

Glatch, ranked 114th, continued to dominate in the second set, breaking her 48th-ranked opponent in the second and fourth games before serving out the match.

"This has been unbelievable," Glatch said. "I played well overall. I really don't know how I'm doing it. Now, it's gonna come down to the doubles. I'm pretty confident in our players."

Glatch said her two Fed Cup wins were "definitely the most important" in her career.

"This is one of the few times in my life I'm playing on a team," she said. "It beats anything I've done in tennis before."

Kvitova, who wept during a post-match news conference, praised Glatch.

"She was excellent," Kvitova said. "I was trying to fight but she didn't allow me to do anything."

If the Czech Republic wins the doubles match, it would be the country's first Fed Cup final since it came into existence after the break up of Czechoslovakia in 1993. Czechoslovakia won five Fed Cup titles, the last in 1988.

"It would be fantastic to reach the final," Safarova said. "We need three points and I believe that we'll make it."

Safarova broke Mattek-Sands in the opening game of the first set and again in the ninth when she converted her second set point on the indoor hard court in Rondo Arena.

In the second set, Mattek-Sands, also making her Fed Cup debut, was broken in the second game, allowing Safarova to jump to a 3-0 lead. Safarova broke her again for a 5-1 lead and served out the match to love to improve to 4-4 in Fed Cup singles.

"She made some good shots, the winners, and I made too many mistakes," the 39th-ranked Mattek-Sands said. "I'm very honored to play for the USA. It was a great experience."

The 22-year-old Safarova, ranked 47th, replaced Benesova, who was clearly outplayed by Glatch in the opening singles on Saturday.

In Saturday's opening singles, Kvitova put the host team ahead by beating Mattek-Sands 6-3, 7-6 (2). Glatch leveled by defeating Benesova 6-1, 6-2.