Bucharest, Brisbane: Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber blasted her way past Simona Halep on Sunday to put Germany 2-1 up in their Fed Cup World Group play-off away to Romania.
In a superb performance, Kerber needed just 67 minutes to seal her 6-2, 6-2 victory over Halep, who received plenty of vocal support from the home crowd at the Sala Polivalenta Arena in Cluj-Napoca.
“I tried to play aggressively and I succeeded in doing that. I carried out my match plan well,” said Kerber.
“It was a tough match. Simona is a tough player. I am really happy about my performance today. The atmosphere here is amazing and I really enjoyed it.”
Her team-mate Andrea Petkovic now has the chance to give the visitors an unassailable 3-1 lead when she faces Monica Niculescu in Sunday’s second singles rubber.
It had finished all square on Saturday after Romania’s Halep, ranked sixth in the world, needed just under three hours to secure her 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 6-4 win over Petkovic after Kerber had beaten Irina-Camelia Begu.
Germany are in the play-off after their 3-2 defeat at home to Switzerland in February and are bidding to stay in the top flight, as are Romania following their 3-2 loss to the Czech Republic.
A below-strength United States booked a place in the Fed Cup World Group when Coco Vandeweghe came from a set down to beat Australia’s Samantha Stosur on Sunday.
Vandeweghe’s 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 win in the first of the reverse singles gave the Americans an unassailable 3-0 lead in their World Group play-off match on Pat Rafter Arena in Brisbane.
The Americans later made it a clean sweep when Vandeweghe teamed with Bethanie Mattek-Sands to down Australian pair Daria Gavrilova and Arina Rodionova 6-1, 6-4 in the doubles.
The US came to Australia without their three best players, Serena and Venus Williams, and Sloane Stephens, but won both opening singles matches on Saturday as Madison Keys downed Gavrilova and Christina McHale outlasted Stosur.
