体坛英语新闻：Czech team beat France 3-1 in Fed Cup semifinal

PRAGUE, April 19 (Xinhua) -- The defending champion Czech team beat France 3-1 and advanced to the Fed Cup final in the second day's game of semifinal that held in Ostrava, Czech Republic on Sunday.

The world No. 4 Petra Kvitova beat French player Caroline Garcia in straight sets of 6-4, 6-4 and got the winning point for the Czech team, while the French won the doubles.

In the opening rubber on Saturday, Lucie Safarova beat Garcia in three sets. The world No. 13 took an hour and 58 minutes to defeat 29th-ranked Garcia 4-6, 7-6 (1), 6-1 to give the Czech team a 1-0 lead.

Czech players Barbora Strycova and Safarova lost to French players Kristina Mladenovic and Pauline Parmentier 6-0, 3-6, 8-10 in the doubles game.

The Fed Cup final will be held on Nov. 14-15, 2015, and the Czech team will meet Russian team in the final. This is the the fourth time for Czech team to reach the Fed Cup final in the past five years.