The world’s Top 3 players have been nominated to play in the Fed Cup by BNP Paribas World Group and World Group II first round ties on 7-8 February.
World No. 1 Serena Williams heads USA’s line-up for the World Group II first round match-up against Argentina. She will be joined by sister, Venus Williams, Varvara Lepchenko and Australian Open semifinalist Madison Keys.
World No. 2 Maria Sharapova will lead a strong Russian team into battle against Poland. Sharapova will line up alongside Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Vitalia Diatchenko in Krakow.
World No. 3 Simona Halep leads the way for Romania in its World Group II first round encounter against Spain at the Danube Arena in Galati. She will be joined by Irina-Camelia Begu, fresh from her round of 16 finish at the Australian Open this week, Monica Niculescu and Alexandra Dulgheru.
Poland has nominated another pair of sisters with Agnieszka and Urszula Radwanska bound to be asked to carry a heavy workload in their World Group first round clash against Russia.
Team Canada has nominated three players for the time being, with Sharon Fichman, Gabriela Dabrowski and Francoise Abanda lining up to contest the home tie against Czech Republic.
Meanwhile, Czech Republic will be relying on Karolina Pliskova and Tereza Smitkova to get the defending champions off to a good start in Canada. They will be joined by Denisa Allertova and Lucie Hradecka.
Last year’s runner-up, Italy, is putting out a strong side to face France in the first round. Sara Errani, Camila Giorgi, Roberta Vinci and Karin Knapp will look to move their team into the semifinals for a seventh straight year.
France has nominated Alize Cornet, Caroline Garcia, Kristina Mladenovic and Pauline Parmentier for their tie against Italy.
Germany, who finished runner-up in 2014, has fielded a very strong side led by world No. 9 Angelique Kerber. She is joined by Andrea Petkovic, Sabine Lisicki and Julia Goerges. Barbara Rittner has plenty of options for her team’s tie against Australia in Stuttgart.
Team Australia looks to have strength in depth with Sam Stosur, Casey Dellacqua, Jarmila Gajdosova and Olivia Rogowska in the line-up.
The Argentina team to face USA features Paula Ormaechea, Maria Irigoyen, Nadia Podoroska and Tatiana Bua.
Spain has nominated Garbine Muguruza, who will be making her Fed Cup debut, alongside Silvia Soler-Espinosa, Lara Arruabarrena and Anabel Medina Garrigues.
Dominika Cibulkova, ranked No. 10, was knocked out of the Australian Open by Serena Williams earlier today, but she has been nominated as Slovakia’s No. 1 for their tie against Netherlands.
Cibulkova leads a Slovakian team that also contains Magdalena Rybarikova, Anna Schmiedlova and Kristina Kucova.
Netherlands, who are hosting Slovakia at the Omnisport Apeldoorn, will be hoping Kiki Bertens can recpature her Fed Cup form from 2014, as she leads a Dutch team consisting of Richel Hogenkamp, Arantxa Rus and Michaella Krajicek.
Switzerland will be looking to youth for its tie against Sweden as 17-year-old Belinda Bencic will be the team’s No. 1 alongside Timea Bacsinszky, Viktorija Golubic and Xenia Knoll.
Sweden has named a tried and tested duo of Johanna Larsson and Sofia Arvidsson, who will make up half of the team alongside Rebecca Peterson and Susanne Celik.
The full nominations are listed below:
WORLD GROUP FIRST ROUND
CANADA v CZECH REPUBLIC
Venue: PEPS, Quebec City, CAN (hard – indoors)
Canada
Sharon Fichman
Gabriela Dabrowski
Francoise Abanda
Captain: Sylvain Bruneau
Czech Republic
Karolina Pliskova
Tereza Smitkova
Denisa Allertova
Lucie Hradecka
Captain: Petr Pala
ITALY v FRANCE
Venue: 105 Stadium, Genoa, ITA (clay – indoors)
Italy
Sara Errani
Camila Giorgi
Roberta Vinci
Karin Knapp
Captain: Corrado Barazzutti
France
Alize Cornet
Caroline Garcia
Kristina Mladenovic
Pauline Parmentier
Captain: Amelie Mauresmo
POLAND v RUSSIA
Venue: Krakow Arena, Krakow, POL (hard – indoors)
Poland
Agnieszka Radwanska
Urszula Radwanska
Alicja Rosolska
Klaudia Jans-Ignacik
Tomasz Wiktorowski
Russia
Maria Sharapova
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Vitalia Diatchenko
Captain: Anastasia Myskina
GERMANY v AUSTRALIA
Venue: Porsche Arena, Stuttgart, GER (hard – indoors)
Germany
Angelique Kerber
Andrea Petkovic
Sabine Lisicki
Julia Goerges
Captain: Barbara Rittner
Australia
Samantha Stosur
Casey Dellacqua
Jarmila Gajdosova
Olivia Rogowska
Captain: Alicia Molik
WORLD GROUP II FIRST ROUND
NETHERLANDS v SLOVAKIA
Venue: Omnisport Appeldoorn, Appeldoorn, NED (clay – indoors)
Netherlands
Kiki Bertens
Richel Hogenkamp
Arantxa Rus
Michaella Krajicek
Captain: Paul Haarhuis
Slovakia
Dominika Cibulkova
Magdalena Rybarikova
Anna Schmiedlova
Kristina Kucova
Captain: Matej Liptak
ROMANIA v SPAIN
Venue: Danube Arena, Galati, ROU (hard – indoors)
Romania
Simona Halep
Irina-Camelia Begu
Monica Niculescu
Alexandra Dulgheru
Captain: Alina Cercel-Tecsor
Spain
Garbine Muguruza
Silvia Soler-Espinosa
Lara Arruabarrena
Anabel Medina Garrigues
Captain: Conchita Martinez
SWEDEN v SWITZERLAND
Venue: Helsingborg Arena, Helsingborg, SWE (hard – indoors)
Sweden
Johanna Larsson
Rebecca Peterson
Susanne Celik
Sofia Arvidsson
Captain: Lars-Anders Wahlgren
Switzerland
Belinda Bencic
Timea Bacsinszky
Viktorija Golubic
Xenia Knoll
Captain: Heinz Guenthardt
ARGENTINA v USA
Venue: Pilara Tennis Club, Buenos Aires (clay – outdoors)
Argentina
Paula Ormaechea
Maria Irigoyen
Nadia Podoroska
Tatiana Bua
Captain: Maria-Jose Gaidano
USA
Serena Williams
Venus Williams
Varvara Lepchenko
Madison Keys
Captain: Mary Joe Fernandez
(Courtesy of the Fed Cup and Original Link – http://www.fedcup.com/en/news/195271.aspx )
Topics: Fed Cup, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, Simona Halep, Tennis
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