Williams Sisters, Stephens and Lepchenko Lead U.S. Into Fed Cup Action Against Sweden
The USTA and U.S. Fed Cup Captain Mary Joe Fernandez has announced that world number one and 15-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams will be joined by her sister and world number 22 Venus Williams, world number 16 Sloane Stephens, and world number 27 Varvara Lepchenko in representing the U.S. against Sweden in the 2013 Fed Cup by BNP Paribas World Group Playoff at the Delray Beach Tennis Center in Delray Beach, Fla., April 20-21. The winner of this match will advance to the 2014 World Group and have a chance to compete for the Fed Cup title next year. The losing team will be relegated to World Group II in 2014.
Sweden announced that their team will consist of world number 54 Sofia Arvidsson, number 65 Johanna Larsson, number 425 Hilda Melander and world number 489 Sandra Roma.
“I am really excited about the team that we have for this World Group Playoff,” said U.S. Fed Cup Captain Mary Joe Fernandez. “With all four women ranked in the Top 30 and Serena playing as the number one player in the world, we have great talent and depth, which is a perfect combination. We are looking forward to bringing some great tennis to Delray Beach, a city that has a strong history of supporting Fed Cup, and we know we can count on the crowd to give us that home-court edge.”
The best-of-five match series begins on Saturday, April 20, with two singles matches and is followed by two reverse singles matches and the doubles match on Sunday, April 21. Tennis Channel will present live daily coverage beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET on Saturday and 1:00 p.m. ET on Sunday.
The World Group Playoff will mark the fifth matchup between the U.S. and Sweden in Fed Cup competition with the U.S. leading the series, 3-1. The United States last played at home in Fed Cup competition during the 2012 World Group II First Round in Worcester, Mass., where the U.S. swept Belarus, 5-0, by a team that included both Serena and Venus Williams. The U.S. is 36-4 all-time in Fed Cup ties played at home.
This will be the fourth Fed Cup tie played in Florida and the third played at the Delray Beach Tennis Center, making it the only venue to host a U.S. Fed Cup tie on three occasions. The U.S. squad has never lost a match in its three previous trips to Florida, posting 5-0 sweeps over Austria in the 1995 World Group quarterfinal in Aventura, and against Belgium in the 2005 World Group quarterfinal and the 2007 World Group quarterfinal, both in Delray Beach. Local sponsors include the City of Delray Beach, Delray Beach Community Redevelopment Agency and the Palm Beach County Sports Commission.
