The United States will play Czech Republic in November’s Fed Cup final after Madison Keys helped the defending champions complete a 3-1 victory over France in Aix en-Provence.

The sides were level at 1-1 after Saturday’s singles until US Open champion Sloane Stephens beat Kristina Mladenovic 6-2 6-0 in 54 minutes to give the Americans an early advantage on Sunday.

Keys, who was a late replacement for CoCo Vandeweghe, then stepped up to conquer Pauline Parmentier in a 7-6 6-4 victory to send the US through to their second consecutive final.

“It feels amazing to do that for my team and put us in the finals again,” said the 23-year-old Keys.

However, it was a nervy start for the world No.13 as she let Parmentier race into a 4-1 lead after 18 minutes.

“I knew she was going to play well so I was prepared for that,” said Keys.

“I think the nerves were noticeable in the first set but I just took a step back and embraced the energy from the crowd. I enjoy this.”

The young American broke back and bettered Parmentier in lengthy exchanges to pull the scores even at 4-4.

It was deja vu for the Frenchwoman, who had let a 5-1 first set lead slip against Stephens in the opening match before losing in straight sets.

Parmentier battled to save two set points and force a tie-break with an imposing forehand but she could not save a third as a whipping cross-court winner from Keys sealed the first set.

The second set was dominated by serve until a backhand from Keys dropped kindly on the baseline to give her the break she needed to serve out the victory.

“The girls did so well, both today and yesterday. We are very fortunate to have such a strong group and now we are looking forward to what is going to be a great final,” US captain Kathy Rinaldi said.

Earlier in Stuttgart, Czech Republic’s Petra Kvitova said her team were as hungry as ever after they completed a 4-1 win over Germany to book their place in the final.

Kvitova hammered Angelique Kerber 6-2 6-2 to book her country’s sixth Fed Cup final in the last eight years.

“Every time it feels exciting and we are happy to be in the final,” said Kvitova.

“I knew I had to start very strong today and continue that throughout. From the beginning of the match I knew I had all the weapons.”

Julia Goerges had earlier beaten Karolina Pliskova 6-4 6-2 to give Germany renewed hope after the Czechs took a 2-0 lead on Saturday when Kvitova beat Goerges and Pliskova defeated struggling former world No.1 Kerber.