After another clean sweep against Indonesia, Zheng Saisai and Wang Qiang continued to lead China to face Chinese Taipei in their third Asia/Oceania Group I tie in Dubai on Thursday.

China led a 7-4 head to head record against Chinese Taipei but China lost their previous meeting in 2016, when Wang defeated by Chang Kai-chen, Zheng lost to Hsieh Su-wei. However, the Chinese ladies showcased their growth in the past four years.

The first singles tie saw Zheng to face Yang Ya Yi. Last year's French Open doubles runner-up easily past the 15-year-old 6-1, 6-2 to give China a lead.

China's top player Wang faced Liang En Shuo in the second singles match. The 28-year-old has pledged to donate 1,000 yuan for every game she wins during a stretch of six events towards China's fight against the coronavirus and closed out the contest with 6-3, 6-3 for a 2-0 lead.

Peng Shuai and Xu Yifan faced Latisha Chan and Yang in the doubles. After a slow start, the mainland pair came back to win 4-6, 6-1, 6-4. China will next face Uzbekistan.

The Chinese ladies led China to the Fed Cup semi-finals back in 2008, when Li Na, Peng Shuai, Zheng Jie and Yan Zi defeated Germany 3-2 in the quarter-finals. To reach the Finals in Budapest, China have to secure one of two spots this week to book a place in April's Fed Cup Play-offs.

Meanwhile, other action on Thursday saw India's former doubles world No.1 Sania Mirza play her first Fed Cup match since 2016 by combining with Ankita Raina in the deciding doubles tie to secure a 2-1 win over South Korea. Adila Sutjiadi saved a match point to beat Akgul Amanmuradova en route to see Indonesia's 3-0 win against Uzbekistan.

(Cover: Zheng Saisai /VCG File)