Petra Kvitova Back to Lead Czech Republic Against France in Fed Cup Semifinals

Reigning Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova has come back from a month-long break to lead holders the Czech Republic against France in the Fed Cup semi-finals in Ostrava on April 18-19.

Alongside the world number four, Czech captain Petr Pala on Wednesday called up 12th-ranked Karolina Pliskova, 13th-ranked Lucie Safarova and 23rd-ranked Barbora Strycova for the tie on the Ostrava hard court.

Tereza Smitkova, the world number 57, will also travel to Ostrava with the team. (Hingis Set for Fed Cup Return After 17-year Absence)

"We are the odds-on favourite but it won't be a stroll," Pala told journalists.

"France are playing great tennis in the Fed Cup and we have to look out."

France captain Amelie Mauresmo retained the same team that pulled off a dramatic comeback victory over Italy in the last round as Alize Cornet leads a quartet that also includes Caroline Garcia, Kristina Mladenovic and Pauline Parmentier.

France fell 2-0 down in Genoa when they lost the first pair of singles' matches against Italy before roaring back for a 3-2 victory in February.

The French are appearing in the Fed Cup semi-finals for the first time since 2007 and attempting to reach the final, an achievement they last pulled off in 2005, when they lost to Russia at Roland Garros.

The last time they lifted the trophy was in 2003 when they defeated the United States.

Kvitova, the 25-year-old Wimbledon champion from 2011 and 2014, last played at Doha in February, then skipped the Indian Wells and Miami tournaments citing "mental and physical weariness".

Led by Kvitova and Safarova, the Czech Republic won the Fed Cup in 2011, 2012 and 2014.