Fed Cup: US v Belarus in final

CoCo Vandeweghe and Bethanie Mattek-Sands defeated Kristyna Pliskova and Katerina Siniakova 6-2 6-3 to send the US to their first Fed Cup final in seven years with a 3-2 victory over three-time defending champion Czech Republic.

The Americans will face Belarus, who won their semifinal against Switzerland, for the championship on November 11-12.

Vandeweghe won her singles match for the second straight day, giving the US a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series.

Marketa Vondrousova kept the Czech Republic’s hopes alive by defeating Lauren Davis 6-2 7-5 in Sunday’s other singles match at Saddlebrook Resort.

Vandeweghe and Mattek-Sands won the decisive doubles match in one hour, 21 minutes.

The Americans, who have won 17 Fed Cup titles, advanced to the final for the first time since 2010.

The Czechs had won the top team event in women’s tennis the past three years and five of the last six.

Meanwhile, Belarus, without top player Victoria Azarenka, produced a stunning performance on Day 2 with scores locked at 1-1 gong into the final day.

The unheralded duo of Aliaksandra Sasnovic and Aryna Sabalenka triumphed in the reverse singles over Timea Bacsinszky and Viktorija Golubic respectively to hand the hosts an unassailable 3-1 lead.