U.S. Versus France In Fed Cup Coverage on Tennis Channel This Weekend

Written by: Staff on 18th April 2014

U.S. Versus France In Fed Cup Coverage on Tennis Channel This Weekend

epa00938160 Maria Kirilenko's shadow gets projected on Center court during a second round match against Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova at the Duba Open Tennis Tournament, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday 21 February 2007. EPA/Mauricio Ramos |

U.S. FED CUP TEAM FIGHTS FOR 2015 TOURNAMENT SPOT THIS WEEKEND ON TENNIS CHANNEL

Captain Mary Joe Fernandez Leads Americans Against France in St. Louis

Tennis Channel will provide exclusive live coverage of the U.S. Fed Cup team’s playoff competition against France in St. Louis this weekend, with live world-whiparound telecasts on Center Court Saturday, April 19, beginning at 4:30 p.m., and Sunday, April 20 ET, beginning at 2 p.m. ET. Similar to the setup used at major events like the US Open, French Open and Wimbledon, Center Court utilizes a central-desk format and seamless coverage of matches playing simultaneously on multiple courts. The United States must defeat France to qualify for the 2015 Fed Cup tournament. Former Australian Open semifinalist (2013) Sloane Stephens will join Madison Keys, Varvara Lepchenko and Christina McHale as they fight for a spot in next year’s Fed Cup tournament after losing their first-round match to Italy in February.

In addition to televising the United States-France Fed Cup playoff this weekend, Tennis Channel will cover the 2015 Fed Cup semifinals live on Center Court with Italy-Czech Republic play, in Ostrava, Czech Republic, beginning at 7 a.m. ET, and Germany-Australia competition in Brisbane, Australia, beginning at 10:45 p.m. ET.

Tennis Channel will also feature the men’s Monte Carlo tournament and the women’s Kuala Lumpur tournament this weekend, which feature such stars as Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Stanislas Wawrinka and Dominika Cibulkova.

Coverage on Center Court is as follows (all time ET):

Saturday, April 19:

7 a.m. – Live Singles #1 – Italy v. Czech Republic

7:30 a.m. – Live ATP Monte Carlo

4:30 p.m. – Live Singles #1 – USA v. France

6:30 p.m. – Live Singles #2 – USA v. France

10:45 p.m. – Live Singles #3 – Germany v. Australia

1 a.m. – Live Singles #4 – Germany v. Australia

3 a.m. – Live Doubles – Germany v. Australia

Sunday, April 20:

6 a.m. – Live Singles – Italy v. Czech Republic / WTA Kuala Lumpur

6:30 a.m. – Live Doubles – ATP Monte Carlo

9 a.m. – Live Singles – ATP Monte Carlo

2 p.m. – Live Singles #3 – USA v. France

4 p.m. – Live Singles #4 – USA v. France

6 p.m. – Live Doubles – USA v. France

The United States and France have faced each other 11 times in Fed Cup play, with the United States winning all but one of those meetings. However, France captured its sole victory against the United States in 2003 in the final. The American squad must defeat France in order to compete in the 2015 Fed Cup competition. The United States leads all nations with 17 Fed Cup championships, the most recent in 2000.

Retired tennis star Mary Joe Fernandez, a member of the winning U.S. Fed Cup team in 1996, will lead the United States Fed Cup team for her sixth year as captain. Stephens reached her first seminal at a Grand Slam last year when she defeated Serena Williams in the quarterfinals at the Australian Open. Keys received her first victory over a top-ten player last year at the Madrid Open when she defeated Li Na in the first round before falling to Angelique Kerber. Lepchenko had a breakout season last year when she advanced the fourth round at the French Open and the third rounds at both Wimbledon and the US Open. McHale earned praise for her impressive performance at the 2013 US Open in the third round before falling to former World No. 1 Ana Ivanovic.

If France wins this weekend it will qualify for a chance to play for the 2015 Fed Cup. France’s team is captained by Amelie Mauresmo and features Alize Cornet, Caroline Garcia, Virginie Razzano and Claire Feuerstein.

Tennis Channel (www.tennischannel.com) is the only 24-hour, television-based multimedia destination dedicated to both the professional sport and tennis lifestyle. A hybrid of comprehensive sports, health, fitness, pop culture, entertainment, lifestyle and travel programming, the network is home to every aspect of the wide-ranging, worldwide tennis community. It also has the most concentrated single-sport coverage in television, with telecast rights to the US Open, Wimbledon, Roland Garros (French Open), Australian Open, Emirates Airline US Open Series, ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events, top-tier WTA competitions, Davis Cup and Fed Cup by BNP Paribas, and Hyundai Hopman Cup. Tennis Channel is carried by nine of the top 10 video providers.

****

United States vs. France

Fed Cup by BNP Paribas

2014 World Group Playoff

Chaifetz Arena

St. Louis, Mo * April 19-20

ORDER OF PLAY

The order of play for this weekend’s U.S. vs. France Fed Cup by BNP Paribas World Group Playoff was determined at Friday’s Official Draw Ceremony, hosted at the St. Louis Public Library.

The opening day of play in the best-of-five match series features each country’s No. 1 singles player against the No. 2 player from the opposing country. The order of play for this weekend is as follows:

DAY/LOCAL, TIME MATCH PAIRING

Saturday, 3:30 p.m. Singles A: Sloane Stephens (USA) v. Caroline Garcia (FRA)

Singles B: Madison Keys (USA) v. Alize Cornet (FRA)

Sunday, 1:00 p.m. Singles C: Sloane Stephens (USA) vs. Alize Cornet (FRA)

Singles D: Madison Keys (USA) vs. Caroline Garcia (FRA)

Doubles: Christina McHale / Lauren Davis * (USA) vs. Virginie Razzano / Claire Feuerstein (FRA) **

*Lauren Davis is replacing Varvara Lepchenko, who is unable to compete due to injury.

**Team captains may substitute the doubles team up to one hour before the match.

WHERE TO WATCH

Tennis Channel will present live daily coverage beginning at 3:30 p.m. CT on Saturday and 1:00 p.m. CT on Sunday.

Topics: Center Court, Fed Cup, Tennis, Tennis Channel, Tennis News

Follow 10SBALLS.COM on:

Facebook:

Twitter:

10sBalls_com says:

April 18, 2014 at 3:18 pm

U.S. Versus France In Fed Cup Coverage on Tennis Channel This Weekend – http://t.co/7qsSxFlI6m @FedCup @TennisChannel