Belgium completed a 5-0 sweep against Colombia in a Fed Cup playoff on Sunday.
Yanina Wickmayer cruised to a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Yuliana Lizarazo in the reverse singles, while Kirsten Flipkens beat Mariana Duque-Marino 6-4, 6-3.
Caroline Maes and Debbrich Feys then beat Castano and Duque-Marino 6-2, 6-3 in the doubles of the World Group II playoff. Wickmayer beat Duque-Marino and Flipkens defeated Castano on Saturday.
Belgium played without top-ranked Justine Henin, who is skipping this year’s Fed Cup to reduce the burden of the long season.
Belgium won the Fed Cup in 2001 and was runner-up in 2006. But without Henin and the recently retired Kim Clijsters, it had lost every tie since the 2006 final and needed the victory against Colombia to avoid dropping into the Europe/Africa Group for the first time since 1995.
In other playoffs, the Czech Republic won 3-2 at Israel, the series going down to the doubles match.
After Iveta Benesova rallied to beat Shahar Peer 6-7 (1), 6-3, 6-4 to put the Czechs 2-1 up, Tzipora Obziler beat Petra Kvitova 6-3, 6-4 to reply for Israel at Ramat Hasharon.
But Benesova and Kveta Peschke beat Obziler and Shahar Peer 6-4, 6-3 to clinch it for the Czechs.
Argentina won both reverse singles matches to beat Germany in Buenos Aires.
The series was locked at 1-1 after Saturday, but Gisela Dulko beat Martina Muller 6-2, 6-4, and Bettina Jozami defeated Angelique Kerber 6-3, 6-1 to give Argentina an unbeatable 3-1 lead.
Francesca Schiavone and Sara Errani won for Italy over Ukraine at Olbia.
With the match level at 1-1, Schiavone won 7-5, 6-3 over Alona Bondarenko before Errani topped Katerina Bondarenko 6-3, 6-2.
Ukraine’s Mariya Koryttseva and Tatiana Perebiynis rallied to beat Errani and Karin Knapp 0-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3 to make the final score 3-2.
BUMRAH WATCH: Captain Jasprit Bumrah left the SCG for scans for back spasms and although he returned to the ground, there was no word on if he would play Rishabh Pant’s blistering counterattack yesterday capped a chaotic second day of the fifth and final Test between Australia and India, with 15 wickets falling and the star bowler of the series leaving the Sydney Cricket Ground with an ambulance escort. Yet the Border-Gavaskar trophy still remains very much in the balance as India reached 141-6, holding a 145-run lead over Australia with three days remaining. “Low-scoring games like this, it just heightens the pressure within it, so long way still to go,” Australia coach Andrew McDonald said. “There’s gonna be plenty of cricket, so we’ll see what happens.” Australia were bowled out for
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Five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek yesterday beat Elena Rybakina in straight sets to take Poland into the final of the mixed-teams United Cup with victory over Kazakhstan. Last year’s runners-up face the US today for the title in Sydney after they beat the Czech Republic in the other semi-final. “This win makes me really proud,” Swiatek said after seeing off Rybakina 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 to give Poland an unassailable 2-0 lead in the tie. It was a statement of intent from the world number two with the first major of the year to start on Jan. 12. “It is perfect preparation for the
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