ITF

F E D C U P B Y B N P PA R I B A S and who might think another tilt at the crown 19 years on would be rather wonderful. Meanwhile, Sloane Stephens was part of the victorious 2017 line-up, but lost both her singles rubbers in the final and wants "to avenge that". Coco Vandeweghe's final was the stuff of dreams, with three points from three rubbers, and obviously she craves that experience again. So for all their mountainous achievements to date, both the USA and Czech Republic remain bursting with ambition. The Czechs revealed that they spoke of little else in the Stuttgart locker room but their yearning for another final in front of their home crowd; while Keys declared that the moment she snatched the winning point against a hugely resourceful Pauline Parmentier, her first and only thought was her determination to earn selection by Rinaldi for November's final. Rinaldi now has the opportunity to emulate Billie Jean King's achievement from the turn of the millennium, by leading the US to successive Fed Cup triumphs. "Winning never gets old," smiled Rinaldi, capturing a mindset which knows no national boundaries. Come the final, history is apparently on the side of the USA. They hold a 10-2 Fed Cup record against the Czechs, including 2-0 on Czech soil. The last time the two nations met on Czech territory was in the 2009 semifinals, when the tie went the distance. Ultimately Mattek-Sands and Liezel Huber saw off Iveta Benesova and Kveta Peschke to send the US into the final. Back in Aix, meanwhile, the French defeat by the USA brought to a close Yannick Noah's reign as his nation's Fed Cup captain. Amid tears from Parmentier, Kristina Mladenovic and Amandine Hesse, he said: "There is no changing my mind. I'm going to miss it dearly. We have a beautiful group. I love my team. I love Fed Cup. But one day you have to move on and I've other projects, other dreams, and I have my family." Elsewhere, the World Group play-offs saw 2017 runners- up Belarus mark their 100th Fed Cup tie with an enthralling victory over Slovakia in Minsk. Twice Slovakia levelled the tie in the singles rubbers before the doubles decided it. In Wollongong, Ashleigh Barty marked Australia's return to the World Group by declaring them genuine contenders for their first Fed Cup title in 45 years. She led the seven- time champions to a 4-1 victory over a Netherlands side missing their top four players. Italy had a grim time on home turf, losing to Belgium for the first time in eight encounters as the visitors maintained their place in the World Group. Elise Mertens' particularly fine form was rewarded when her demolition of Sara Errani became the clinching point for Belgium. In Cluj, Romania made short work of Switzerland to return to the top eight teams. Patty Schnyder, part of Switzerland's 1998 Fed Cup runner-up side and now nearing her 40th birthday, came in for injured Timea Bacsinszky on Sunday and unburdened Simona Halep of just three games. The World Group II play-offs featured so many star names that it was testament to the strength in depth of Fed Cup competition. In Khanty-Mansiysk (a three-hour flight east of Moscow, since you ask), Jelena Ostapenko helped seal Latvia's place among the elite 16 Fed Cup nations for the first time, condemning Russia to play at Europe/Africa Zone Group I level for the first time since 1997. In Montreal, a classic between Canada and Ukraine went the distance before Canada won through. Eugenie Bouchard, now ranked 117, played her first Fed Cup tie in three years, capturing both her singles rubbers. In Japan, visitors Great Britain hoped to end a 25-year wait for a spot among the Fed Cup's elite 16 nations. Johanna Konta took both her singles rubbers, including the crucial-looking clash with new Indian Wells champion Naomi Osaka. But the doubles saw Japan seize a place in World Group II for the first time since 2014. Spain successfully used home advantage in Murcia to end a run of three straight defeats as they saw off Paraguay, although Garbine Muguruza needed almost three hours on day one to despatch world No. 344 Montserrat Gonzalez. ■ 14 ITFWorld // SPRING 2018 G E R M A N Y World No.1 Simona Halep led Romania to victory Two-time major champion Angelique Kerber in action R O M A N I A F R A N C E It was a tough weekend for Kristina Mladenovic "I missed it last year, but playing two ties this year, winning four matches – it's great, I have to say" P E T R A K V I T O V A

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