Bencic beats Kerber as Germany knocked out
Belinda Bencic fought back to beat Angelique Kerber in a blockbuster showdown and help Switzerland eliminate Germany on day two of the Billie Jean King Cup in Prague.
Germany lost to host Czech Republic on the opening day before being brushed aside 3-0 by Switzerland, with world number nine Kerber losing 5-7 6-2 6-2 to Bencic.
Kerber was carrying an injury and was outlasted by the Olympic gold medallist, with that triumph coming after Viktorija Golubic defeated Andrea Petkovic 6-4 7-5.
Golubic and Jil Teichmann added further gloss to the scoreline by overcoming Anna-Lena Friedsam and Nastasja Mariana Schunk in the doubles.
Switzerland now meet Czech Republic in a winners-takes-all contest to determine who finishes top of Group D.
The upset of the day came in Group B as Australia beat Belgium 2-1, with Daria Gavrilova kicking things off by beating Greet Minnen 6-4 1-6 6-4.
Storm Sanders then battled back to beat Elise Mertens 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-0, rendering Mertens and Minnen's doubles win nothing more than a consolation.
In Group A, Russia cruised to a 3-0 win over Canada.
Daria Kasatkina beat Carol Zhao 6-3 6-1 and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova was too strong for Rebecca Marino as she prevailed in three sets.
Slovakia tops Group C, meanwhile, after beating United States 2-1. Shelby Rogers fell 6-4 6-4 to Viktoria Kuzmova before Danielle Collins levelled with a 6-3 6-2 win against Anna Karolina Schmiedlova.
That set up a decider in the doubles, which went the distance as the Slovakian pair of Kuzmova and Tereza Mihalikova prevailed 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 12-10 in a thriller with Caroline Dolehide and CoCo Vandeweghe.
