Hingis, Bencic picked to lead Swiss in Fed Cup semifinal

BERN, Switzerland (AP) Martina Hingis has been picked for Switzerland's team for a Fed Cup semifinal against the defending champion Czech Republic, 18 years

BERN, Switzerland (AP) Martina Hingis has been picked for Switzerland's team for a Fed Cup semifinal against the defending champion Czech Republic, 18 years after leading the team to its previous final appearance.

Hingis, the 35-year-old world's top-ranked doubles player, was named along with No. 10-ranked singles player Belinda Bencic and No. 17 Timea Bacsinszky.

Team captain Heinz Guenthardt completed the lineup with No. 137 Viktorija Golubic.

Switzerland hosts the Czechs on April 16-17 on indoor hard courts at Lucerne.

The visitors, winners of four of the last five Fed Cup titles, will be without its top-ranked player - two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova.