Samantha Stosur fell agonisingly short in a Fed Cup classic but Jarmila Gajdosova produced one of the wins of her career as Australia shared day one honours with Germany in Stuttgart.
Gajdosova, a surprise selection in singles ahead of higher-ranked compatriot Casey Dellacqua, gave Australia a perfect start in the best-of-five World Group tie by rallying to defeat German No.1 Angelique Kerber 4-6 6-2 6-4 on Saturday.
World No.25 Stosur also showed incredible fight in the second singles rubber before losing to 12th-ranked Andrea Petkovic 6-4 3-6 12-10 in a match lasting more than three hours.
The painful defeat denied Australia a 2-0 lead, with the first-round, indoor-hardcourt tie evenly poised heading into day two on Sunday.
Stosur and Gajdosova are scheduled to back up for the reverse singles in Australia’s bid to avenge last year’s semi-final loss to the Germans in Brisbane and clinch a second successive appearance in the competition’s last four.
Australia captain Alicia Molik pulled a surprise on Friday in naming world No.54 Gajdosova to play ahead of 35th-ranked Casey Dellacqua, feeling the 27-year-old had the power game to rattle world No.10 Kerber.
And so it proved as Gajdosova bounced back from losing a tight first set, rattling off 37 winners in a match that lasted just under two hours.
It was Gajdosova’s first win over a top-ten opponent since defeating then world No.4 Francesca Schiavone in a 2011 Fed Cup match, continuing an impressive comeback after her ranking dropped below 300 following a debilitating bout of mono in 2013.
“It’s a great win for me and of course it means a lot more to do it in Fed Cup,” said Gajdosova, who had wins over world No.11 Dominika Cibulkova and Petkovic in Sydney last month.
“I’ve beaten a few good players this summer so I’m glad to add Angelique to those wins.
“I’m enjoying my tennis again. I feel healthy, I’m happy I can compete physically and mentally I feel good. Hopefully I can keep going and the ranking will go forward.”
Stosur, playing her 27th tie, was a break down in all three sets of her loss to Petkovic, the longest ever Fed Cup match involving an Australian.
She fought back from 4-1 down to 4-4 in the first set and missed a stack of break point opportunities to go 5-4 up.
Stosur was facing defeat at 3-1 down in the second set but reeled off five straight games to level the match.
The Australian again battled back from a slow start in the final set and missed a golden winning opportunity, missing a passing shot on match point up 5-4 on Petkovic’s serve.
Stosur fended off a host of break points in the tense final games but two double faults allowed the German the break to go 11-10 up before holding serve to love.
Stosur is due to face Kerber when play resumes on Sunday morning (2230 Sunday AEDT) with Gajdosova to take on Petkovic.
Stosur and Dellacqua are named to face Sabine Lisicki and Julia Goerges in the potentially-decisive doubles rubber.
