PARIS - Angelique Kerber qualified Germany for the Fed Cup semi-finals on Sunday when she defeated Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova 6-3, 7-6 (7/5) in the first of the reverse singles. The win gave the Germans, who last won the Fed Cup in 1992, an unassailable 3-0 lead in the tie.
Kerber defeated Daniela Hantuchova 7-6 (11/9), 6-1 in the second of Saturday's two singles, after Andrea Petkovic had saved a match point en route to a 1-6, 7-6 (9/7), 6-2 win over Cibulkova. Next up for Germany will be a semi-final matchup against Australia, who defeated an understrength Russia team 4-0 in Hobart, Tasmania earlier on Sunday led by two Samantha Stosur wins and a comprehensive doubles display.
Stosur, the world number 16 and 2011 US Open champion, saw off 158-ranked teenager Victoria Kan in exactly an hour, with a straight sets 6-2, 6-3 win over the 18-year-old Fed Cup debutante to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead over Russia. "I'm very, very happy. She (Kan) can do a lot of different things, she does everything nicely and when she gets older and a little bit more strong I'm sure that will all come together," said Stosur. "We're still in it, so we have a chance to win it," she added of the Fed Cup.
Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua sealed a clean sweep of the Russians with an emphatic 6-1, 6-3 doubles win over Irina Khromacheva and Valeria Solovyeva.  Dellacqua said she and Barty had both had a "great week". "We are going to play a lot together. Last year she was only a baby, but she's 18 soon, she's becoming an adult and we're going to play a lot together and hopefully continue to improve on what we did last year." Australia last made the Fed Cup semi finals in 1993, and they haven't beaten Russia since 1983.
Australia went into Sunday with a commanding 2-0 lead after Dellacqua downed Irina Khromacheva, the only one of the four Russians who has competed in the world team event before, in straight sets. Stosur then dispatched little-known 16-year-old Veronika Kudermetova, ranked 650th in the world, 6-4, 6-0. She had been due to meet Khromacheva on Sunday, but Russia reshuffled its line-up to send top-ranked Kan in against the dominant Australian.  Russia, last year's losing finalists, are without their big names for the clash at the Domain Tennis Centre in Hobart, missing their 13 top players. Maria Sharapova is currently in Sochi for the Winter Olympics and the new captain, former world number two Anastasia Myskina, opted for four almost unknown players, the highest-ranked of whom was Kan.
Defending champions Italy moved within one match of advancing past the United States to the Fed Cup semi-finals after victories by Karin Knapp and Camila Giorgi on Saturday. World number 40 Knapp beat 62nd-ranked Christina McHale 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 in the opener, which lasted two hours and 14 minutes. "It's incredible," Knapp said. "I'm really happy. I played a great match." Camila Giorgi, ranked 84th, then downed 37th-ranked US teen Madison Keys 6-2, 6-1, in only one hour in a matchup of Fed Cup debutantes. "For sure my first time was really nice. It's much different but it's a lot of fun to be on the team," Giorgi said. "I played good. Everything was going well. It's really nice to have these days." The Americans have never recovered from a 0-2 deficit to win in the current Fed Cup format. The winner will face either Spain of the Czech Republic in the semi-finals.
In Seville, Spain won their opening rain-delayed rubber against the Czech Republic with the second scheduled singles postponed 24 hours. Rain in Spain left only the opening rubber playable, with Carla Suarez Navarro giving the hosts a 1-0 lead over the Czech Republic courtesy of a 6-1, 6-4 defeat of Barbora Zahlavova Strycova. Saturday's second match pitting Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor and Klara Zakopalova (CZE) will now be played on Sunday before the three scheduled rubbers.