Fed Cup: France, Belarus in command, champion Czechs tied

France and Belarus were in command of their Fed Cup first-round ties while defending champion the Czech Republic and Romania split their opening singles on Saturday.
Australian Open semifinalist Karolina Pliskova won the first point for the Czechs after easing past Mihaela Burzanescu 6-1, 6-4 on an indoor hard-court in Ostrava.
But Simona Halep won the second singles by routing Katerina Siniakova, the star of last year’s final against the United States, 6-4, 6-0.
Pliskova and Halep, both f