Germany On The Brink In Fed Cup Tennis Semifinal

Germany's tennis team is on the brink of reaching its first Fed Cup final in 21 years. They are 2-0 up going into the final day of their semifinal in Australia.

Andrea Petkovic and Angelique Kerber (photo) both won their singles matches against their Australian opponents on Saturday ahead of Sunday's doubles and reverse singles matches in the Pat Rafter Arena at the Queensland Tennis Centre in Brisbane.



Germany last won the Fed Cup in 1992, when the team beat Spain with now-captain Barbara Rittner in the side.



Petkovic opened the match on Saturday with a 6-1, 7-6 win over 2011 US Open champion and 2010 French Open finalist Sam Stosur. Stosur was up 5-3 in the second set before Petkovic leveled and took the tie-break on her fourth match point.



"I was kind of nervous but I just got through it," Petkovic said.



Kerber had a straightforward win over Casey Dellacqua 6-1, 6-0 in 51 minutes on the outdoor hard court.



"It was a very good match for me, I was there from the first point," Kerber said of her win. "It was a great feeling to go on court up 1-0, and now I'm even happier it's 2-0."



"I am very proud of my team, they played two great matches," team captain Rittner said. "The first was a lot closer than it looked, and the second, Angelique just played a great match. I didn't expect us to be up 2-0, I just wished ..."



The Czech Republic and Italy are playing in the other semifinal this weekend with the final scheduled for November 8-9.



jm/pfd (dpa, AP)