Aliaksandra Sasnovich battled back from a set down to force the deciding fifth rubber in Sunday’s Fed Cup final with a victory over Sloane Stephens of USA to draw Belarus level at 2-2.
Earlier on Sunday CoCo Vandeweghe put USA 2-1 up, beating the Belarus teenager Aryna Sabalenka 7-6(5), 6-1.
Sasnovich prevailed 4-5, 6-1, 8-6 for her second win over Stephens, who has lost every match since winning the US Open title in September, in as many meetings.
Australian Open and US Open semifinalist CoCo Vandeweghe, ranked 10th in the world, fired 12 aces to win her first-ever meeting with the 19-year-old Aryna Sabalenka in one hour and 18 minutes.
Both Vandeweghe and Sabalenka played with confidence from the start on the hard-court at the packed Minsk Chizhovka 8,000-seat arena, holding their serves until the 11th game when the American broke.
But, Sabalenka broke back immediately, with Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko watching the game, to force a tie-break, which the 25-year-old American won to take a one-set lead after 50 minutes on court.
In the second, Sabalenka, ranked 78th in the world, suddenly lost her nerve, allowing Vandeweghe to break twice for a commanding 5-0 lead minutes before the American took the set and the match sealing victory with an accurate backhand.
The results: Belarus 2 United States 2 [Aryna Sabalenka lost to CoCo Vandeweghe 7-6(5), 6-1; Aliaksandra Sasnovich bt Sloane Stephens 4-6, 6-1, 8-6] .
