Paris: Barbora Strycova got holders Czech Republic off to a winning 1-0 start in the Fed Cup semi-final on Saturday as the Netherlands also led France by the same scoreline but only briefly.

In Lucerne, Strycova beat World No 17 Timea Bacsinszky 6-0, 6-2. However, Swiss Viktorija Golubic fought right back and beat Karolina Pliskova 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 to make it 1-1.