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Bencic, Bacsinszky, Hingis to Lead Swiss


Belinda Bencic, Timea Bacsinszky and Martina Hingis led Switzerland to its first Fed Cup final four since 1998.

Next weekend, host Switzerland will play for a final return against defending champion Czech Republic, which is without two its top two singles starters.

More: Giorgi, Italian Federation at Odds Over Fed Cup

Rosters for next weekend's Fed Cup World Group semifinals and playoffs were announced today, presenting a challenge for the Czech Republic in the April 16-17th semifinal staged on the hard court of Lucerne.




World No. 18 Karolina Pliskova and Dubai finalist Barbora Strycova lead a Czech team that will play without two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova and 2015 French Open finalist Lucie Safarova, who have both opted out of the semifinals.

World No. 60 Denisa Allertova and 83rd-ranked Lucie Hradecka round out captain Petr Pala's squad, which is seeking its fifth Fed Cup final in the last six years.

Pliskova owns a 7-1 Fed Cup record with her lone loss in the team competition coming against former No. 1 Maria Sharapova in the 2015 final in Prague. Pliskova accounted for all three points, including a victory over Simona Halep, in the Czech Republic's 3-2 victory over host Romania in February. Pliskova and Strycova clinched the victory winning the decisive doubles point.






In February's quarterfinal against host Germany, Hingis and Bencic won 12 of the final 15 games to post a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Andrea Petkovic. The victory vaulted Switzerland into the final four for the first time since a then 17-year-old Hingis and Patty Schnyder led Switzerland to the semifinals with a 4-1 victory over the Czech Republic.




Switzerland is playing for its first Fed Cup final since squandering a 2-1 lead and losing to Spain, 3-2, in the 1998 final.

"We don't have an absolute super star like Serena or Maria Sharapova, but we have a very, very solid team," Swiss captain Heinz Guenthardt said. "If anytime someone is not playing well someone else can pick up the slack. Every single singles player we have is good. And we have good doubles as well."

Photo credit: Fed Cup Facebook

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