Week 5 - Fed Cup Qualifier - Slovakia vs GB - Bratislava (Indoor Clay)

Ace Ventura · Tennis legend

Week 5 - Fed Cup Qualifier - Slovakia vs GB - Bratislava (Indoor Clay)

PaulM · Tennis legend

Good draw. Players are that side of the Atlantic anyway so not a bad travel. Hopeful.

mbturner · Lower Club Player

Hopefully televised and at a convenient time of day.

HarryGem · Club Coach

Ace Ventura wrote:
Mexico away.
Tennis-wise it should be OK, and a lot better than it could have been, but away again is a shame. Not sure where they will play, and whether it will be on clay, or if they just use the hard courts of Acapulco or Monterrey, hopefully the latter.

-- Edited by Ace Ventura on Tuesday 11th of February 2020 11:11:58 AM

I'd say it is a bit more than Ok. We should be able to win even without Konta. Lose and we really do deserve to be relegated. Best draw we could have got except for the same country at home.

ROSAMUND · Futures level

HarryGem wrote:
Ace Ventura wrote:
Mexico away.
Tennis-wise it should be OK, and a lot better than it could have been, but away again is a shame. Not sure where they will play, and whether it will be on clay, or if they just use the hard courts of Acapulco or Monterrey, hopefully the latter.

-- Edited by Ace Ventura on Tuesday 11th of February 2020 11:11:58 AM
I'd say it is a bit more than Ok. We should be able to win even without Konta. Lose and we really do deserve to be relegated. Best draw we could have got except for the same country at home.

From an interest to the British general public a home draw would have been better. The new Fed Cup seems to have passed GB by. With another draw away it means that in play off matches starting 2012 GB have been away in Sweden, Argentina, Rumania, Japan, Slovakia and Mexico with just Kazakhstan at home. More interest and success might have been created in the years if only we had got a home tie. Judy Murray used to complain about the old format but we seem to be no better off with the new one.

JonH comes home · Tennis legend

ROSAMUND wrote:
HarryGem wrote:
Ace Ventura wrote:
Mexico away.
Tennis-wise it should be OK, and a lot better than it could have been, but away again is a shame. Not sure where they will play, and whether it will be on clay, or if they just use the hard courts of Acapulco or Monterrey, hopefully the latter.

-- Edited by Ace Ventura on Tuesday 11th of February 2020 11:11:58 AM
I'd say it is a bit more than Ok. We should be able to win even without Konta. Lose and we really do deserve to be relegated. Best draw we could have got except for the same country at home.

From an interest to the British general public a home draw would have been better. The new Fed Cup seems to have passed GB by. With another draw away it means that in play off matches starting 2012 GB have been away in Sweden, Argentina, Rumania, Japan, Slovakia and Mexico with just Kazakhstan at home. More interest and success might have been created in the years if only we had got a home tie. Judy Murray used to complain about the old format but we seem to be no better off with the new one.

But most of those ties are old format, theres only this year in new format for gb. And we are a level ahead of the old zonal group ties judy hated. So a bit early to judge the new format I feel!

Ace Ventura · Tennis legend

Yeah, I'm kind of with Rosamund. I was really hoping we'd draw Argentina, as I don't think there's too much between them and Mexico on the court, but at least we'd have definitely had the home advantage. I know we get Wimbledon every year, and out fair share of WTA events compared to most of these possible opponents, but the lack of home FC ties is unfortunate and frustrating.

Assuming there's no Konta for April:

Poland - Linette and Swiatek - Would be a struggle
Serbia - would be quite even, and choice of venue would likely prove the difference
Asia/Oceania - China and any combo of their 4 circa top 50 players and we'd struggle.
Ukraine - we'd likely struggle whichever WTA players they put out, particularly Yastremska and Svitolina
Italy - Similar to Serbia
Argentina - not much different to Mexico, Podoroska is probably the most accomplished out of both of thsoe potential squads, but you'd like to think we'd have enough
Asia/Oceania - If Taiwan with Hsieh and the Chans played then it might be difficult, but it would have been at home, so I might have preferred this.

Tennis-wise, I'd say it would be something like:

Mexico H
Argentina H
Mexico A

So in terms of progressing, it's probably the 3rd best out of the 13 possiblities (would have been 16, but couldn't be Argentina or the 2 Asian sides away), but if offered, I'd have possibly preferred to have had Taiwan, Italy and Serbia at home over Mexico away, just to try and build and capitalise on something.

You'd certainly like to think the likes of Heather and Harriet, Katie B as well (if included), would have too much for whoever out of Olmos, Zacarias or Zarazua Mexico fielded. None of those are currently in the top 250, although they have at least been competitive with some decent players in recent months.

JonH comes home · Tennis legend

Yeah but that isnt a fault with the new format? Could equally have happened under old?

Ace Ventura · Tennis legend

I never said it was Jon, I was well into my long reply before you replied to Rosamund, so didnt see that, and mine was more in response to Harry's post.

Ace Ventura · Tennis legend

We'd be extremely unlikely to see Fed Cup action beyond April in the old format, so no difference in that respect, it's just frustrating how it always seems to be away, regardless of format, ha.

JonH comes home · Tennis legend

Ace Ventura wrote:
I never said it was Jon, I was well into my long reply before you replied to Rosamund, so didnt see that, and mine was more in response to Harry's post.

Ah ha!

Ace Ventura · Tennis legend

JonH comes home wrote:
Ace Ventura wrote:
I never said it was Jon, I was well into my long reply before you replied to Rosamund, so didnt see that, and mine was more in response to Harry's post.
Ah ha!

To be fair, I could have quoted the relevant post to make it much more clearer.

JonH comes home · Tennis legend

Ace Ventura wrote:
We'd be extremely unlikely to see Fed Cup action beyond April in the old format, so no difference in that respect, it's just frustrating how it always seems to be away, regardless of format, ha.

Agree with that point. And the old zonal group event in bath gave us our belly full to be fair!

Ace Ventura · Tennis legend

Ace Ventura wrote:
It was almost exclusively Europe vs the rest of the world, but there's one all European tie, and one without a European nation

Poland vs Brazil
Mexico vs GB
Serbia vs Canada
Latvia vs Asia/Oceania TBD
Japan vs Ukraine
Romania vs Italy
Argentina vs Kazakhstan
Netherlands vs Asia/Oceania TBD

Home sides on the left.

So China and India came through the Asian round robin in Dubai to make the April playoffs. China away to Netherlands, India away to Latvia.

ROSAMUND · Futures level

Fed Cup finals in Budapest and GB tie in Mexico cancelled and to be played at later date.