American hopes of ending their longest Fed Cup title drought and capturing a record-extending 18th Fed Cup championship have spiked considerably with the presence of Serena Williams.
United States Fed Cup captain Mary Joe Fernandez announced today that the 11-time Grand Slam champion will return to Fed Cup competition for the first time since 2007 and lead the American squad against host Italy in next month's Fed Cup final.
Williams hopes to lead the U.S. to the Fed Cup title for the first time since 2000 and will be joined by Liezel Huber, the No. 1 doubles player in the world, US Open quarterfinalist Melanie Oudin and Alexa Glatch. The final will be contested on a red clay court at the Circolo del Tennis Rocco Polimeni in Reggio Calabria, Italy, on November 7-8.
The best-of-five match series begins on Saturday, November 7 with two singles matches and is followed by two reverse singles matches and the doubles match on Sunday, November 8. Tennis Channel will present daily live coverage beginning at 5:00 a.m. ET on Saturday and Sunday.
"I am very excited that Serena wants to represent her country. As captain, you want to have your best players competing, and Serena is the best in the world," said Fernandez. "Liezel is unquestionably our team leader and her strong doubles play has clinched both ties this season. Melanie is possibly the most improved player in the world this year, as evidenced by her incredible run at the US Open, and Alexa won two key matches on the road against the Czech Republic in April and will not be intimidated by the environment. I strongly believe that this team can go into Italy and win the Fed Cup title."
The Williams sisters made their Fed Cup debut against Italy in the 1999 semifinals on the red clay of Ancona, Italy. Venus scored two singles wins, Serena won one singles match and the sisters partnered to win the doubles and lead the USA to a 4-1 victory. Serena, who owns a 7-0 Fed Cup record (4-0 in singles), has not played a Fed Cup match since the 2007 quarterfinals against Belgium.
The United States is 9-0 against Italy, but next month's tie marks the first time the Italians will host a Fed Cup final. Italy, which upset host Belgium to capture the 2006 Fed Cup championship, is contesting its third final in the past four years. The USA is playing in its 27th Fed Cup final and seeking its record-extending 18th Fed Cup championship.
A formidable Italian squad that will likely feature Flavia Pennetta and Moscow champion Francesca Schiavone, who scored two singles wins in Italy's 4-1 conquest of Russia in the semifinals. Schiavone owns a 12-4 record in Fed Cup singles matches contested on clay and has a clay-court victory over Serena.
Williams, 28, will make her first appearance in Fed Cup since 2007 and is undefeated in her Fed Cup career. She has earned the No. 1 ranking on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour twice this season after a year in which she captured her 10th and 11th Grand Slam titles by winning the Australian Open and Wimbledon. She also partnered with sister Venus to win the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open doubles titles. Williams is 4-0 in Fed Cup singles play, and helped the U.S. capture the 1999 Fed Cup title. She and Venus also won the Olympic Gold Medal in women’s doubles in 2000 and 2008.
Huber, 33, became a U.S. citizen on July 25, 2007, with the hopes of playing for the U.S. at the 2008 Olympic Games. Huber, a four-time Grand Slam doubles champion who won the 2008 US Open, finished the 2007 season tied for No. 1 in the world doubles rankings and has not surrendered the top spot since. Born in South Africa, Huber 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 has won all three of her matches for the U.S. in Fed Cup play, including tie-clinching matches with partner Julie Ditty against Argentina in this year’s quarterfinal and with Bethanie Mattek-Sands against the Czech Republic to send the U.S. to the 2009 Fed Cup final.
Oudin, 18, will be making her third straight appearance for the U.S. Fed Cup team after earning a key singles victory against Argentina with the U.S. facing a 2-1 deficit in February’s quarterfinal. Oudin has shot up the rankings in 2009 after a breakthrough year and is currently ranked No. 47 in the world. She defeated former World No. 1 Jelena Jankovic en route to a fourth round appearance at Wimbleon, and recently made headlines when she upset 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist Elena Dementieva and former World No. 1 Maria Sharapova in three set matches to become the youngest American quarterfinalist at the US Open since 1999. Oudin also won back-to-back USTA Pro Circuit titles at $50,000 events in Indian Harbour Beach, Fla., and Raleigh, N.C., in May.
Glatch, 20, will make her second consecutive Fed Cup appearance for the U.S. after winning two singles matches in her debut against the Czech Republic in the 2009 World Group semifinals. Glatch won her fifth career singles title on the USTA Pro Circuit in Laguna Niguel, Calif., in January, and had her best-ever showing in a tour-level event in Indian Wells, Calif., where she reached the third round. She also upset Italy’s Flavia Pennetta in the first round of the 2009 French Open to match her best result in a Grand Slam. Glatch is currently ranked No. 136 in the world.
The U.S. won the last meeting between the two nations in 2003 in the quarterfinal tie in Washington, D.C., as Chanda Rubin and Meghann Shaughnessy each won two singles matches to lead the U.S. to a 5-0 victory.
