Serena and venus Williams into fed cup 2018! The best moments

It was Venus Williams who did the heavy-lifting by winning two singles points in the tie, posting straight-set victories over Arantxa Rus on Saturday, and clinching the tie against Hogenkamp on Sunday.

“Obviously this is an important moment, when you're playing not just for yourself but your other team members and your captain, for your country,” said Venus, of securing the tie for USA. “It's definitely a different kind of pressure.

“I'm really happy with how the team played through tough moments, a new surface, against players we've never seen before,” she added. “Those were all factors. Yeah, I think we're all just looking forward to the next tie.”

The only match Williams didn’t win was the doubles that she played with sister, Serena, against Lesley Kerkhove and Demi Schuurs, in their first Fed Cup doubles outing since 2003. It was Serena’s first official match in over a year since she went on maternity leave after winning the 2017 Australian Open title. Her daughter, Alexis Olympia, who arrived in the world in early September, had a prime courtside seat throughout the weekend.

“It felt really good to be back on the court,” Serena said. “I've been training. It's just exciting to be out there. A lot of not nerves, but anticipation for myself. That's good. I think that's normal.”