PARIS — Fightbacks from Switzerland against holder Czech Republic and France against the Netherlands left the Fed Cup semifinals on a knife’s edge Saturday.
Barbora Strycova got the Czech Republic off to a winning start in Lucerne, demolishing world No. 17 Timea Bacsinszky 6-0, 6-2 in 65 minutes.
It was a first Fed Cup win for 33rd-ranked Strycova who had lost all three of her previous singles ties in the competition.
And it left the Swiss facing a tough battle as it bids for a first Fed Cup final appearance since 1998.
But Viktorija Golubic leveled with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 defeat of Karolina Pliskova to leave the tie wide open at 1-1 ahead of Sunday's concluding reverse singles and doubles.
The host had suffered a blow as Swiss No. 1 Belinda Bencic pulled out of the tie with a back injury.
The Czechs are aiming for a fifth title in six years.
In Trelaze, host France was trailing after Kiki Bertens saw off Caroline Garcia 6-4, 6-2 in the opening rubber in the western town.
Bertens, ranked 96, dominated France's No. 2 player Garcia, ranked 45, calmly converting her only break point opportunity in the first set.
She increased the pressure in the second to wrap up the tie after one hour and 11 minutes at the Arena Loire, to notch up her 14th win for just one singles defeat in Fed Cup.
But taking a leaf out of the Swiss book France dug deep and got itself back level at 1-1 thanks to Kristina Mladenovic's 6-2, 6-4 win over Richel Hogenkamp.
In the pair's first meeting Mladenovic - ranked more than 100 places higher than her Dutch opponent - produced some powerful ground strokes to put Hogenkamp on the back foot in the opening set.
Hogenkamp fought back in the second set, but to no avail.
France is chasing a first finals appearance since 2005 and had gone into its tie on clay as heavy favorite against surprise semifinalist the Netherlands.
Spain on verge of World Group
Wimbeldon finalist Garbine Muguruza and world No. 11 Carla Suarez Navarro combined to give Spain a 2-0 lead over Italy in their Fed Cup World Group playoff Saturday.
After a tight first set, world No. 4 Muguruza stormed past Francesca Schiavone 7-6 (7-4), 6-0 to put the host 1-0 up in the tie.
Suarez Navarro was even more convincing as she thrashed US Open runner-up Roberta Vinci 6-1, 6-1 in little over an hour to leave Spain one win away from a return to the World Group after a two-year absence.
Germany, Romania tied
Romania's top woman player Simona Halep battled to a 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-4 victory over Germany's Andrea Petkovic to even the Fed Cup World Group playoff at 1-1.
Earlier in the day, Germany's Angelique Kerber won the first match against Irina-Camelia Begu 6-2, 6-3.
