Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova rallied past Julia Goerges 3-6, 6-3, 10-8 and give Fed Cup titleholder the Czech Republic a commanding 2-0 lead over Germany on Saturday.
In the first match of the best-of-five tie, Iveta Benesova also came from behind to beat Sabine Lisicki 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Goerges was two points away from winning the match in the third set at 5-4, 30-0, before falling to the second-ranked Kvitova in 2 hours, 21 minutes. Kvitova is on a 26-0 run indoors.
Benesova fired two aces to save two break points while trailing 3-2 in the second set and held serve.
''That was very important, it gave me a push and I stayed in the match,'' Benesova said.
The tie will be decided on Sunday with two reverse singles and a doubles match indoors at Porsche Arena.
Germany's 10th-ranked Andrea Petkovic was ruled out with a lower back injury.
It's the seventh meeting between the teams, with the Czechs holding a 5-1 lead.
The winner will play either Ukraine or Italy in the semifinals on April 21-22.
