Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova sent holders the Czech Republic into their fourth Fed Cup final in five years after breezing past France's Caroline Garcia in straight sets here on Sunday. On the hardcourt of the CEZ Arena in the eastern Czech city of Ostrava, the left-handed world number four beat 29th-ranked Garcia 6-4, 6-4 in an hour and 32 minutes to give the hosts an unbeatable 3-0 lead.
The Czechs, who won the Fed Cup title in 2011, 2012 and 2014, will now take on Russia in Prague in the November 14-15 final after the Russians beat Germany 3-2 in the other semi-final.
In Sunday's clash of the teams' number one players, the 25-year-old Kvitova showed she was back in shape after a month-long break from the sport as she won the 25th of her 31 Fed Cup singles rubbers.
"It was definitely hard," Kvitova said after the game.
"I knew what to expect, I played against her last year so I knew how to play and it worked.
"She likes to play fast, long balls into the body so the rival wouldn't have time.
"I tried to play the same, go for it from the first ball after the serve so she would have to run and wouldn't have time to dictate the pace," she added, praising Garcia's "very solid performance."