Simona Halep and Karolina Pliskova on Fed Cup collision course after wins

Simona Halep and Karolina Pliskova traded blows as the opening day of the Fed Cup clash between Romania and Czech Republic finished 1-1.

First, Pliskova swept past Mihaela Buzarnescu 6-1, 6-4 before Halep leveled things up by winning her rubber against Katerina Siniakova 6-4, 6-0.

The scene is set, therefore, for world number three Halep and world number five Pliskova to possibly settle the tie face-to-face on Sunday.

“I’m excited but I can’t afford to get over-excited,” said Australian Open semi-finalist Pliskova, who trails Halep 6-2 in career meetings.

In Liege, meanwhile, two-time champions France dominated Belgium to claim a 2-0 overnight lead.

Caroline Garcia, playing her first Fed Cup match for two years following a bitter fall-out with teammates, got the ball rolling with a 7-6 (7-2), 4-6, 6-2 win over Alison Van Uytvanck.

Alize Cornet them double the French advantage with a fine 7-6 (8-6), 6-2 besting of Elise Mertens.

Belarus are also firmly in the running seat after Aliaksandra Sasnovich and Aryna Sabalenka both won in straight sets to give them a 2-0 lead over Germany.

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