Federation Cup: The Czech Republic reached their fourth Fed Cup final in five years when Petra Kvitova beat Caroline Garcia 6-4 6-4 to help the holders beat France 3-1 yesterday. They will face Russia, who beat Germany 3-2 in the other semi-final, in the November 14-15 final. Kvitova was barely troubled yesterday by Garcia, who threatened a second-set comeback when she bagged three games in a row after falling 5-1 down. But Kvitova was just too good and wrapped up victory with a forehand winner to give her team an unassailable lead.

Cycling: Michal Kwiatkowski of Poland outgunned the favourites to win the Amstel Gold Race, a 258-km hilly one-day classic race yesterday. The Etixx-Quick Step rider beat Spain’s Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), one of the specialists of the Ardennes classics, which continue on Wednesday with La Fleche Wallonne.

Swimming: Michael Phelps closed out the Arena Pro Swim Series meet with a win in the 100m freestyle. Phelps, competing for the first time last week following a six-month ban for a drunk driving conviction, finished strong over the final 50m of the 100 to finish in 49.72 seconds at the Mesa, Arizona meet.

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