LEIPZIG, Germany — Belinda Bencic defeated Andrea Petkovic 6-3, 6-4 to give Switzerland a 1-0 lead over Germany on the opening day of their Fed Cup first-round tie on Saturday.
Petkovic started well and raced into a 2-0 lead but 16 unforced errors cost her dearly as she lost the first set. Bencic converted all three of her break opportunities to wrap it up in just 35 minutes.
The 23rd-ranked German improved in the second set but the 18-year-old Bencic, ranked 11th, converted one of her four break opportunities to win the match.
Germany was left to hope that Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber could level the tie by winning her later match against the 15th-ranked Timea Bacsinszky.