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U.S. Fed Cup Team Announces Line-up vs Russia
Posted on April 16, 2008
WORLD NO. 1 DOUBLES PLAYER LIEZEL HUBER TO MAKE FIRST APPEARANCE ON U.S. FED CUP TEAM ALONGSIDE VANIA KING, AHSHA ROLLE AND MADISON BRENGLE
2008 Fed Cup by BNP Paribas Semifinal Takes Place April 26-27 in Moscow
Daily Coverage on Tennis Channel
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., April 16, 2008 -- The USTA and U.S. Fed Cup Captain Zina Garrison today announced that Liezel Huber, the No. 1 doubles player in the world, Vania King, Ahsha Rolle and Madison Brengle will face Russia in the 2008 Fed Cup by BNP Paribas Semifinal April 26-27 on an indoor red clay court at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia.
The best-of-five match series begins on Saturday, April 26 with two singles matches and is followed by two reverse singles matches and the doubles match on Sunday, April 27. Tennis Channel will present daily coverage beginning at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday and 9 p.m. ET on Sunday. The U.S. won its last Fed Cup tie on red clay at Germany's Tennisclub Ettenheim in 2006.
"Mary Joe and I determined this is a great opportunity for some fresh, new faces to gain experience with the guidance of a respected veteran like Liezel," said U.S. Fed Cup Captain Zina Garrison. "Vania, Ahsha and Madison have a bright future and represent the next generation of Fed Cup competition."
Huber, 31, became a U.S. citizen on July 25, 2007, with the hopes of playing for the U.S. at the 2008 Olympic Games. She finished the 2007 season tied for No. 1 in the world doubles rankings and hasn't surrendered the top spot since. Huber, born in South Africa, spent four years on the South African Fed Cup team and posted a 9-3 overall record (9-2 doubles) in 12 ties -- all on red clay. She is a three-time Grand Slam doubles champion.
King, 19, clinched the U.S. victory over Belgium in the 2007 quarterfinals by winning her first live singles match against Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium. She made her Fed Cup debut in 2006 against Germany on red clay and owns a 3-3 career Fed Cup record. King won her first tour singles title in Bangkok in October 2006.
Rolle, 23, will make her inaugural appearance on the U.S. Fed Cup team. She had the best season of her career in 2007, reaching the third round at both Indian Wells and the US Open, where she notched her first win over a Top 20 player (def. No. 18 Tatiana Golovin). Rolle broke into the Top 100 for the first time in her career after the US Open, rising from No. 109 to No. 82.
Brengle, 18, has been a part of the U.S. Fed Cup team on one other occasion as a "Future Fed Cupper" but will make her competitive debut in Russia. On the junior circuit in 2007, Brengle reached the girls' singles final at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, and earned a career-high No. 4 in the ITF World Junior Rankings. She won her first pro singles title in 2005 and was a semifinalist on the USTA Pro Circuit this season.
The U.S. and Russia have met six times in Fed Cup competition with the U.S. owning a 4-2 advantage. Russia won the last meeting between the two nations in Stowe, Vt. Nadia Petrova and Elena Vesnina defeated Venus Williams -- fresh off her fourth Wimbledon singles title -- and Lisa Raymond in the fifth-and-decisive doubles rubber to advance to the World Group Final where they would capture their third Fed Cup title in the last four years.
Venus and Serena Williams declined to compete for the U.S. in the semifinals.
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