BRISBANE, Australia (AP) Christina McHale rewarded a selection gamble when she beat Sam Stosur 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 Saturday to give the United States a 2-0 lead over Australia in their Fed Cup world group tennis playoff.
U.S. captain Mary Joe Fernandez made a surprise decision to play McHale ahead of Coco Vandeweghe in the second singles and the move paid off when McHale, ranked 57, ended a run of four losses to the 26th-ranked Stosur.
Earlier, Madison Keys gave the United States a winning start with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Russian-born Daria Gavrilova who was making her Fed Cup debut for Australia.
''It's a great start for us,'' Keys said. ''We're obviously now on the board and it's just a little less pressure.''
Playing on clay at the Pat Rafter Arena, big-hitting Keys took 77 minutes to complete a comprehensive win over Gavrilova. Her powerful serve kept the Australian pinned back and limited Gavrilova's shot selection.
Keys broke her opponent twice in the first set and though Gavrilova recovered one break in the fourth game, she couldn't find a way to trouble Keys. The American was more dominant in the second set, firing 14 winners.
Stosur started powerfully against McHale but the 23-year-old American turned the match in a second set which lasted only 25 minutes. McHale kept her composure as Stosur made 44 unforced errors.
Stosur will face Keys and Gavrilova will play McHale in Sunday's reverse singles.
The winner of the playoff will play in the Fed Cup world group next year.