United States leads Australia 2-0 in Fed Cup

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) Christina McHale rewarded a selection gamble when she beat Sam Stosur 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 Saturday to give the United States a 2-0 lead over

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) Christina McHale rewarded a selection gamble when she beat Sam Stosur 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 Saturday to give the United States a 2-0 lead over Australia in their Fed Cup world group tennis playoff.

U.S. captain Mary Joe Fernandez made a surprise decision to play McHale ahead of Coco Vandeweghe in the second singles and the move paid off when McHale, ranked 57, ended a run of four losses to the 26th-ranked Stosur.

Earlier, Madison Keys gave the United States a winning start with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Russian-born Daria Gavrilova who was making her Fed Cup debut for Australia.

The winner of the playoff, which ends Sunday, will play in the Fed Cup world group next year.