PRAGUE — Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova and Barbora Strycova won the opening singles matches Saturday to give the Czech Republic a commanding 2-0 lead over Switzerland in the Fed Cup first round.

Kvitova put the Czechs ahead after she overcame a second-set scare to beat Viktorija Golubic 6-2, 1-6, 6-3. Strycova doubled the advantage with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Belinda Bencic to put the Czechs one win away from their 10th straight Fed Cup semifinals.

Strycova jumped 4-1 up in the second set before Bencic, the former top 10 player, fought back briefly to reduce the lead to 4-3.

Strycova served the match out on an indoor hard court at Prague's O2 Arena, winning with her first match point due to Bencic's 23rd unforced error.

"It was a solid game from me," Strycova said. "I'm grateful for the point, it's pretty important."

Kvitova hit 32 winners on the way to victory compared to Golubic's 14.

Kvitova has returned to Fed Cup action for the first time since recovering from injuries in a knife attack at her home in December 2016. She won in St. Petersburg, Russia, this month, beating two top-10 players.

The reverse singles and the doubles closer are scheduled for Sunday.

France 1, Belgium 1

Kristina Mladenovic beat Kirsten Flipkens 6-2, 6-4 to draw France level with Belgium at 1-1 in their Fed Cup first-round match Saturday.

The 13th-ranked Mladenovic constantly pressured Flipkens' serve, taking five of 11 break-point chances and beating the Belgian for the second time in two career meetings.

Elise Mertens, ranked 20th, earlier swept aside Pauline Parmentier 6-2, 6-1 to give Belgium the lead on the indoor hard court in western France.

Parmentier, ranked 91st, dropped her serve six times in a one-sided contest.

Mertens will face Mladenovic, and Parmentier follows on court against the 70th-ranked Flipkens in Sunday's reverse singles. The French pair will team up in doubles against Belgian duo Ysaline Bonaventure and Alison Van Uytvanck.

France and Belgium are meeting for a fifth time, with France leading 3-1 overall and Belgium winning their last meeting in 2000. The winner faces the United States or the Netherlands in the semifinals in April. — AP