Karolina Pliskova and Barbora Strycova led defending champions the Czech Republic into the Fed Cup semifinals after winning their rubbers Sunday for an unbeatable 3-1 lead against Spain. In a clash of the teams' number-one players, world number three Pliskova overcame seventh-ranked French Open champion Garbine Muguruza 6-2, 6-2 in an hour. Then Strycova, ranked 17th, beat 70th-ranked Lara Arruabarrena 6-4, 6-4 in almost two hours. Seeking a fourth straight Fed Cup title, and sixth from the last seven editions, the Czechs will face either Germany or the United States in the semifinals on April 22-23. In Minsk, the 18-year-old Aryna Sabalenka put Belarus into the semifinals Sunday with a straight-set win over Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands in the World Group opening round tie. Sabalenka, who is 142 in the world, won 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 her first ever meeting with Krajicek, 28, to give the host Belarus an unassailable 3-1 advantage. Earlier Sunday Aliaksandra Sasnovich, ranked 128th, put Belarus into a 2-1 lead as she beat Bertens also in straight sets 6-3, 6-4 in one hour 23 minutes ending the Dutch star's eight-match winning streak in Fed Cup. In Paris, Switzerland's Timea Bacsinszky overcame being stung by a wasp to beat French rival Alize Cornet. The Swiss were 1-1 against France in Geneva. The United States was closing in on a 2-0 lead over Germany when rain halted action in Hawaii. Bacsinszky downed Cornet 7-5, 6-4 but only after needing treatment when she was stung on her arm by a wasp at 3-3 in the first set of the clash at Geneva's Palexpo arena. France, the runner-up to the Czechs last season, eventually leveled the quarter-final when 23rd-ranked Kristina Mladenovic eased past her best friend Belinda Bencic 6-3, 6-4. Alison Riske put the Americans up 1-0 with a 7-6 (12/10), 6-2 victory over Andrea Petkovic, in a tie that started on an awkward note when an outdated version of the German national anthem was performed. It was the start of a tough day for Germany. After Riske's win America's shock Australian Open semifinalist CoCo Vandeweghe took a 6-3, 3-1 lead over Julia Goerges before rain stopped play for the day — Goerges also tweaking a knee when she slipped on a rain-slicked baseline. Umpires undergoes surgery French tennis umpire Arnaud Gabas, hit in the eye by a ball fired by Canadian Denis Shapovalov during a Davis Cup tie against Great Britain, has undergone surgery on a fractured eye socket. The 35-year-old's retina and cornea were undamaged but confirmed a report in L'Equipe sports daily that the Frenchman required surgery. Shapovalov, 17, handed Britain the Davis Cup tie when he was disqualified against Kyle Edmund last Sunday for bashing the ball in frustration and inadvertently catching Gabas in the eye. Gabas, initially taken to hospital in Ottawa as a precaution, was left with bruising and swelling. Tennis authorities imposed a 7,000 dollar (6.250 euro) fine on Shapovalov who apologized over the incident. — Agencies
