(Seville) The Czech Republic beat defending champions Switzerland on Tuesday on the first day of the group stage at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals.
Linda Noskova defeated Céline Naef 7-6 (2), 4-6, 6-4, then Marie Bouzkova defeated Viktorija Golubic 6-4, 6-4, in Group A.
Bouzkova was a late addition to the Czech team following the withdrawal of Karolina Muchova with a wrist injury.
Switzerland was without Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic, who announced on Friday that she was pregnant.
The United States is the other team in Group A. The Americans will face Switzerland on Thursday.
In Group B, Slovenia won 2-1 against Australia, last year’s runners-up.
Kaja Juvan beat Ajla Tomljanovic 6-4, 6-1, while Tamara Zidansek beat Daria Saville 6-1, 6-4.
Australia’s point came when Kimberly Birrell and Storm Hunter prevailed 7-5, 6-7 (2), 10-5 against Veronika Erjavec and Ela Nala Milic, in doubles.
The BJK Cup Finals feature 12 countries at La Cartuja Stadium in Seville, southern Spain. The champions will be crowned on Sunday.
There will be a record total of $9.6M in the purse, including $2.4M to the winners.
Teams compete in four round-robin groups and the winners will advance to the semi-finals.
