Viktorija Golubic pulled off a tremendous fightback on her Fed Cup singles debut to ensure Switzerland got back on level terms in their semi-final with reigning champions Czech Republic.
The dominant Fed Cup nation in recent times, Czech Republic have been crowned champions in four of the last five years and looked to be firmly on course to book another final appearance on Saturday.
After Barbora Strycova had hammered Timea Bacsinszky 6-0 6-2, Karolina Pliskova moved a set and a break up on Golubic, the world number 129 pressed into singles action due to Belinda Bencic’s injury-enforced withdrawal.
However, Pliskova lost her way from that point on as her inexperienced opponent turned things around in Lucerne to triumph 3-6 6-4 6-4 and leave the tie evenly poised at 1-1.
France and Netherlands are also locked at 1-1 in the other World Group semi-final, taking place at the Arena Loire in Trelaze.
Kiki Bertens put the first point on the board for Netherlands with a surprise 6-4 6-2 victory against Caroline Garcia, who is 51 places higher in the WTA rankings.
Yet France regained parity through Kristina Mladenovic’s 6-2 6-4 success over Richel Hogenkamp.
