Fed Cup Preview

This is the opening week of the 2011 Fed Cup and there is quite bit of action and a few intriguing ties.  World Group I and II are in action Saturday and Sunday plus Zonal Group I (all regions) with their round robin play throughout the week as well as Asia/Pacific Zonal Group II.  Here's a breakdown of the ties.  Of course, lots more detail is available at http://www.fedcup.com/.

World Group I
-Italy at Australia
-United States at Belgium
-Czech Republic at Slovakia
-France at Russia

I like Italy, Belgium, the Czechs, and Russia to advance.  Italy could face a stout challenge from the Aussies but Pennetta is far better than Groth or Rodionova.  If it gets to the doubles though, I like Stosur/Stubbs to pull it out.  With Clijsters and Wickmayer, the Belgians have far too much firepower for the young Americans but I don't think they'll go without a fight.  Likewise for the Russians versus the French.  The best tie should be Czech-Slovak one with top 2 players on each side ranked within about 10 spots of each other.  I like the Czechs though because Peschke is an ace in the hole if comes down to the doubles.

AUS 3-1, BEL 3-1, CZE 3-2, RUS 3-0

World Group II
-Spain at Estonia
-Germany at Slovenia
-Canada at Serbia
-Ukraine at Sweden

I'm going with Estonia, Germany, Canada (tossup), and Sweden to play for a spot in the World Group I in a couple months.  Several of these could be great ties.  I think Kanepi is playing too well and some of the top Spaniards too poorly to allow a road Spanish win.  It's maybe a bit of a reach with the talent Spain can throw out there in doubles but I'll stick with it.  Germany should smoke Slovenia, they have quite a few up and coming players.  Canada and Serbia is a total toss up and going with Canada because they're slightly deeper and the Serbs aren't playing Jankovic or Ivanovic.  The Jovanovski-Marino matchup should be good and the tie could hinge on how well Wozniak is playing after being out with injury.  I don't think Ukraine has much of a chance on the road against the Swedes (Arvidsson and Larsson) with the elder Bondarenko out.

EST 3-2, GER 3-0, CAN 3-2, SWE 3-1

Europe/Africa Zonal Group I
Quite a few good players in this group since they are about the decent player for their country so teams with two 50s-ish players can beat them.  We have Denmark (Wozniacki), Belarus (Azarenka), Poland (Radwanska), and Israel (Peer).  The group is being played in Israel which is a huge advantage for Israelis and Peer.

Pool A:  Denmark, Great Britain, Switzerland
Some referred to this as the pool of death and I like the Swiss coming out.  Wozniacki doesn't have a teammate in top 500 so Schnyder and Bacsinszky should be able to take care of the second singles and the doubles match.  They're also just better than Britain.

Pool B:  Bulgaria, Israel, Luxembourg, Poland
This pool has a few decent teams too and it will probably come down to Poland and Israel.  Should be a great match between Radwanska and Peer, and the Poles have good doubles team but I'm going with Israel due to the home court.  Bulgaria is a dark horse with Pironkova.

Pool C:  Austria, Belarus, Croatia, Greece
Probably a two country race between Austria and Belarus and Azarenka does have a good sidekick in Govortsova.  I like the Belarussians here but wouldn't be surprised to see Bammer and Mayr pull it out.

Pool D:  Hungary, Latvia, Netherlands, Romania
Should be all Romania with Dulgheru and Niculescu but don't be surprised to see a stiff challenge from Hungary with Szavay, Arn, and former girls no. 1 Timea Babos.

Promotion (assuming A vs B and C vs D):  SUI def. ISR, ROU def. BLR

Americas Zonal Group I
This group doesn't quite have the stars as the previous group and in fact, has only one player ranked in the top 100.  Probably not coincidentally, Argentina is the host nation.

Pool A:  Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Peru
I would be shocked if Argentina didn't win this going away.  They have Dulko, doubles no. 1 and the only top 100 singles player in the group.

Pool B:  Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico
I don't know a ton about almost of these players, so I'm going with Colombia.  Mariana Duque Marino won a WTA title last year.

Final:  ARG def. COL

Asia/Pacific Zonal Group I
There a few names of note in this group which should probably be more competitive than the last, in my opinion.  Thailand is the host country.

Pool A:  China, India, Thailand, Uzbekistan
Each country has one name of note and a prosperous junior.  China has Li, India has Mirza, Thailand has Tanasugarn and former junior slam champ Lertcheewakarn, and the Uzbeks have Amanmuradova.  But how do you pick against Li when she just made a slam final?  However, quite a few of the ties could come down to the doubles.

Pool B:  Japan, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Taiwan
The Kazakhs took a huge hit, when this pool's highest ranked player (Shvedova) went down with injury but they still have a decent team.  But I like the Japanese here with Date-Krumm and Morita.

Final:  CHN def. JPN though you'd think it will come down to the doubles.  Will Li play doubles?

Finally, I'll touch briefly on the 2 other groups in action though when you get down this low you don't know much about the teams at all.

Asia/Pacific Zonal Group II
For whatever reason, this is being played alongside A/P ZG I in Thailand.

Pool A:  Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Philippines
Pool B:  Hong Kong, Oman, Singapore, Turkmenistan