Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci gave Italy a 2-0 lead over the two-time defending champion Czech Republic in the Fed Cup semifinals on Saturday.
Errani opened with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Lucie Safarova before Roberta Vinci followed with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over eighth-ranked Petra Kvitova on the red clay at the Palermo tennis club.
Vinci earned her second straight-set win over Kvitova in less than a week. She beat the former Wimbledon champion in the final last weekend in Poland. That gave Vinci a career-high ranking of No. 12.
After reverse singles Sunday, Italians Flavia Pennetta and Francesca Schiavone are scheduled to face Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka in doubles.
However, if the best-of-five series goes down to the doubles, Italy captain Corrado Barazzutti can switch to Errani and Vinci, the top-ranked team on the WTA Tour.
