Petra Kvitova handed the Czech Republic their third Fed Cup title in four years after beating Angelique Kerber in the final on Sunday to give her team an unbeatable 3-0 lead over Germany. Kvitova, the Wimbledon champion and world number four, beat 10th-ranked Kerber in a three-set rollercoaster rubber pitting the teams' number one players 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 6-4 in two hours and 57 minutes.
Spearheaded by Kvitova, the Czechs already won the cup in 2011 and 2012, following five titles earned by the former Czechoslovakia in 1975-1988. Germany last won the Fed Cup in 1992.
"Angie played so well and I'm just glad that I did it, it was really about one point and then she could take it," said a jubilant Kvitova, who had beaten Germany's number two Andrea Petkovic 6-2, 6-4 on Saturday.
"It was really up and down from the beginning of the match and there was always a big fight for every single point," added the 24-year-old who won Wimbledon in 2011 and 2014.
"I had cramps at the end of the second set, doctors gave me a lot of magnesium. I was lucky in the end maybe."
Kerber had to shake off Saturday's 6-4, 6-4 defeat at the hands of Czech number two Lucie Safarova.
"I gave everything I had today and in the end Petra was better, I think she deserved to win but we both played at a really high level," said the 26-year-old German.
"It was for sure one of the best matches this year for me." The first set turned into a 76-minute thriller with both left-handers at their most aggressive on the superfast hardcourt of Prague's O2 Arena packed with 13,000 fans.
Kvitova squandered four break points while Kerber needed a single one to break her in the fifth game before doing it again for a 5-2 lead.
But Kvitova showed why Czech fans and media call her "Lioness" and broke her rival back twice to come level at 5-5.
Kerber went on an attacking spree to earn another break and grab a 6-5 lead, before the drama peaked in game 12.
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