Draws Made For 2 Fed Cup Zone Group I Events

Written by: Staff on 25th January 2011

Draws Made For 2 Fed Cup Zone Group I Events

Elena Baltacha (GBR) |

The draws for two Fed Cup by BNP Paribas Zone Group I events – Europe/Africa and Asia/Oceania – were made at the ITF offices in London on Monday.

EUROPE/AFRICA ZONE GROUP I

Municipal Tennis Club, Eilat, Israel
2-5 February

There were gasps at the draw ceremony when Pool A emerged as the group of death in Eilat, with Switzerland, Great Britain and Denmark being pulled out of the hat together.

Only the top nation in each round-robin Pool gets the chance on Saturday to compete for a place in the World Group II play-offs, so there is no time for slip-ups from any of the teams. The bottom nations face a fight to avoid relegation.

Switzerland is led by the evergreen Patty Schnyder alongside fellow Top 50 player Timea Bacsinszky. The Swiss were relegated from World Group II in 2009 but are one of the favourites to bounce back this year.

Great Britain has named the experienced duo of Elena Baltacha and Anne Keothavong, and exciting youngster Heather Watson provides the added support that could push the Brits into promotion contention.

Denmark boasts in its ranks world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, currently chasing her maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, although the team’s No. 2 player, Karen Barbat, is ranked outside the Top 500, piling the pressure onto Wozniacki’s shoulders.

The absence of Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska leaves the door open for Israel in Pool B. The host nation’s team includes world No. 12 Shahar Peer, fresh from a third round appearance in Melbourne.

Belarus is the team to beat in Pool C, having nominated world No. 9 Victoria Azarenka and world No. 73 Olga Govortsova, while Hungary and Romania are likely to dominate Pool D.

Pool A
Switzerland
Great Britain
Denmark

Pool B
Poland
Israel
Bulgaria
Luxembourg

Pool C
Belarus
Austria
Croatia
Greece

Pool D
Netherlands
Hungary
Romania
Latvia

ASIA/OCEANIA ZONE GROUP I

National Tennis Centre, Nonthaburi, Thailand
2-5 February

The addition of world No. 11 Na Li, who wasn’t in the original team nominations, makes China favourites to prevail from Pool A in Nonthaburi. The Chinese are hoping for an immediate return to World Group II after suffering relegation in 2010.

Kazakhstan, led by world No. 41 Yaroslava Shvedova, are bidding to top Pool B and play for a place in World Group II for the first time in the nation’s history. Japan is expected to provide the stiffest opposition.

Pool A
China, P.R.
Uzbekistan
Thailand
India

Pool B
Japan
Chinese Taipei
Kazakhstan
Korea, Rep.

AMERICAS ZONE GROUP I

Tennis Club Argentino, Buenos Aires, Argentina
2-5 February

The draw for Americas Zone Group I is scheduled to take place on 1 February, the day before the event gets under way.

Topics: Fed Cup