Match-ups decided in Germany
The draw has been made in Furth for the Fed Cup by BNP Paribas World Group II tie between Germany and Croatia, and it will be Sandra Kloesel out first for the hosts, against Jelena Kostanic Tosic.
Anna-Lena Groenefeld, at No. 45 the highest-ranked singles player in action this weekend, plays Ivana Lisjak in the second match on Friday.
The draw took place in the players hotel "Forsthaus", located in a beautiful rural scenery close to the tennis site. The tie, being played on clay outdoors, will see the winner qualify for the World Group Play-offs in July, for a chance to enter the elite eight-nation World Group in 2008. This weekend's matches will start on Saturday at 12:00 local time at the TV Furth with a 2,700-capacity centre court, and the full draw is as follows:
Sandra Kloesel(GER) v Jelena Kostanic Tosic (CRO)
Anna-Lena Groenefeld (GER) v Ivana Lisjak (CRO)
Anna-Lena Groenefeld (GER) v Jelena Kostanic Tosic (CRO)
Sandra Kloesel (GER) v Ivana Lisjak (CRO)
Tatiana Malek/Andrea Petkovic(GER) v Jelena Kostanic Tosic/Ivana Lisjak (CRO)
"It is an open tie. Everything can happen. The chances are fifty-fifty," the German captain and former player Barbara Rittner said. Her team travelled to Furth on Sunday and started practising on Monday. "We visited a folk festival in Nuremberg but beside that we were just working hard," Rittner said.
Groenefeld makes her return to tennis this weekend
It was not clear until the draw if Anna-Lena Groenefeld, the best-known player in the German team, would play singles. Groenefeld was ranked world No. 14 a year ago but after she separated from her coach, had a few physical problems and many first round losses, she slipped in the rankings to a current No. 45. For the tall German it is the first appearance after a seven week break from the tour.
"It was a tough decision," Rittner said, "but over the last couple of days Anna-Lena improved a lot. She told me she wants to play so badly for her team."
"Fed Cup is something special," Groenefeld added. "It could be more often during the year. The atmosphere in our team is really good. Barbara trusts me and I hope I can pay back with good results."
Sandra Kloesel, Germany's No. 2, is ranked 94. Their best player at the moment, world No. 34 Martina Muller, does not play for Germany due to disagreements with the German Tennis Federation.
Croatian captain confident
Croatian captain Goran Prpic believes his team has the same chance of winning the tie in Germany: "We worked good and feel very comfortable here in Furth," Prpic said. His team includes world No. 82 Jelena Kostanic Tosic and 20-year-old Ivana Lisjak, ranked 154.
Prpic also said that he had planned on Sania Ancic. But the gifted 18-year-old sister of Davis Cup player Mario Ancic is suffering with a leg injury. The team is also missing former No. 17 Karolina Sprem who is concentrating on her comeback on the WTA Tour.
Germany is leading Croatia 3-0 in Fed Cup ties. The last meeting between the two nations took place two years ago in Bol, Croatia when Rittner's team won 4-1.
