Fed Cup Preview: Czech Republic vs. Germany

If one were putting together a dream matchup between nations in Fed Cup, this semifinal encounter between Germany and the Czech Republic would meet all the requirements:

Former world number-ones? Check.

Grand Slam champions? Got that.

Top-10-caliber talent in singles and doubles? Affirmative.

The Czech Republic has a 7-1 record against Germany in the international team competition, with their most recent meeting coming in the 2014 final in Prague, won by the home team. While the Czechs have dominated the event the past several years, according to FedCup.com, they’ve only won one tie on clay since 2007—the surface they’re playing on this weekend in Stuttgart.

Here’s a look at the players vying to put their nation through to the final, along with a prediction on who will come out on top.

Julia Goerges

Age: 29

Ranking: No. 11 in singles/No. 86 in doubles

Fed Cup Record: 6-7 in singles/5-3 in doubles

2018 to date: Goerges ended 2017 playing the best tennis of her career, and that carried into January when she captured her third title in a three-month span. She also reached the Top 10 for the first time this year, and after hitting a bit of a rough patch, made it to the final in Charleston on clay.

Season Highlight: Auckland champion

Angelique Kerber

Age: 30

Ranking: No. 12 in singles/doubles N/A

Fed Cup Record: 13-10 in singles/0-0 in doubles

2018 to date: 2017 was a year that Kerber set upon erasing as soon as she took the court this year. In January, she looked like a number-one ranked player again as she went undefeated in Hopman Cup, won Sydney and reached the final four at the Australian Open to make it back to the top 10 after plummeting from the top spot.

Season Highlight: Australian Open semifinalist

Tatjana Maria

Age: 30

Ranking: No. 61 in singles/No. 141 in doubles

Fed Cup Record: 5-4 in singles/5-2 in doubles

2018 to date: The veteran’s best results this year have come in doubles and Fed Cup. She played a key role in helping Germany advance past Belarus in the opening round of the team event this year.

Season Highlight: Acapulco doubles champion

Anna-Lena Groenefeld

Age: 33

Ranking: N/A in singles/No. 20 in doubles

Fed Cup Record: 11-7 in singles/9-8 in doubles

2018 to date: Teaming up with American Raquel Atawo this year, the duo has had consistent results through the year. Like Maria, Groenefeld’s biggest moment was helping Germany advance to the Fed Cup semis.

Season Highlight: Miami Open doubles quarterfinalist

Karolina Pliskova

Age: 26

Ranking: No. 6 in singles/No. 429 in doubles

Fed Cup Record: 9-3 in singles/4-0 in doubles

2018 to date: The former world No. 1 hasn’t been able to advance past the semifinal stage at a tournament yet this year. Pliskova’s had deep runs through the draw every week, but save for her Australian Open loss to Simona Halep, she’s lost to a lower-ranked opponent each time.

Season Highlight: Australian Open quarterfinalist

Petra Kvitova

Age: 28

Ranking: No. 10 in singles/doubles N/A

Fed Cup Record: 28-10 in singles/0-1 in doubles

2018 to date: After a rough start in Australia, the two-time Wimbledon champion went on a tear, winning 14 matches in a row—a run that included two titles and two wins in the Fed Cup first round. That stretch brought her back into the top 10 for the first time since 2016.

Season Highlight: St. Petersburg and Qatar champion

Barbora Strycova

Age: 32

Ranking: No. 26 in singles/No. 12 in doubles

Fed Cup Record: 10-7 in singles/10-4 in doubles

2018 to date: A consistent dual threat, Strycova had a solid start to the year in Australia, including a run to the round of 16 at the year’s first major. She’s gone through a bad stretch form-wise in singles, but did capture the Indian Wells doubles title with Su-Wei Hsieh.

Season Highlight: Indian Wells doubles champion

Katerina Siniakova

Age: 21

Ranking: No. 52 in singles/No. 7 in doubles

Fed Cup Record: 1-1 in singles/0-2 in doubles

2018 to date: The young Czech had a near-perfect start to the year with a runner-up finish in Shenzhen, where she was the defending champion. Her form has cooled off in singles, but she continues to impress in doubles, having a standout year with countrywoman Barbora Krejcikova.

Season Highlight: Shenzhen finalist

Prediction: Both Kerber and Goerges are former champions at the Stuttgart Open, the site of this tie, and clay happens to be the surface Pliskova and Kvitova have experienced the least amount of success on. Still, you don’t win five Fed Cup titles in seven years without knowing how to navigate trying circumstances. The Czechs will take this one by a 4-1 count.

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