THE SCOOP: SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2

Fed Cup: Can Daniela take down mighty Spain?
U.S. gets Czechs in 2003, Wade honored by Hall of Fame and ITF

By Matthew Cronin
tennisreporters.net

Susan Mullane Camerawork USA, Inc.

Slovak Daniela Hantuchova has already made major strides this year, coming out of nowhere to crack the top-10 and reaching the Wimbledon and US Open quarters. But the long, tall sweet-swinger has her toughest task ahead of her this weekend, when she and veteran Janette Husarova try to upset mighty Spain in the Fed Cup final at the Palacio de Congresos de Maspalomas, Gran Canaria.

Even though both Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario and Conchita Martinez are in the fast fading twilights of their careers, both these former Slam champs almost always step it up another level in Fed Cup. That's why since winning Fed Cup for the first time in 1991, Spain has been the most successful country in the event, taking four more victories and finishing as runners-up four other times behind Martinez and Sanchez. Arantxa and Martinez will be playing in their tenth final, surpassing the record they previously shared with Billie Jean King and Chris Evert.

Martinez will take on Husarova in the first match, while Sanchez-Vicario will take on ninth-ranked Hantuchova in the second contest. The reverse singles matches and the doubles will be played on Sunday, with Hantuchova and Husarova teaming up against Martinez and doubles standout Virginia Ruano Pascual, the world's No. 2-ranked dubs player. Martinez is 2-0 against the net-rushing Husarova, but both matches were played on clay.

Before the event began, there was some questions as to why Slovak captain Tomas Malik chose Husarova over the younger and hard hitting Henrieta Nagyova or
Martina Sucha. It's now obvious why: Husarova is a mentally stronger, more mature player who knows how to take advantage of the fast indoor surface.
Sanchez-Vicario and Hantuchova have never played each other and if you look at how their game match up, you have to like Hantuchova – as she rarely hits herself off the court, which is what the defensive-minded usually entices her opponents to do. However, Sanchez-Vicario knows how to work a crowd and could get into the 18-year-old Daniela's head by playing mind games with the umpire and linespersons.

A quick note on the seeming never-to-retire Sanchez: She already holds the record number of Fed Cup match wins at 72 and will break Virginia Wade's record of 57 Fed Cup ties played when she plays Hantuchova. Sanchez will also become the first player ever to contest 100 Fed Cup matches.

U.S. gets Czechs in 2003
The U.S. Fed Cup team drew a home match against the Czech Republic for the first-round of the 2003 competition, to be played April 26-27.

If the U.S. defeats the Czech Republic, it will host either Italy or Sweden in the U.S. in the quarterfinals, to be played July 19-20. The Fed Cup semis and final will be played the week of November 17 when the four nations that reach the semifinals compete in a location yet to be determined.

This year, the U.S. was stunned by Austria 3-2 in the first round on green Har-Tru in Charlotte, N.C. The U.S. was forced to qualify for the World Group by defeating Israel 5-0 in the play-off held in Springfield, Mo.

The Czech Republic lost to Croatia 3-2 in the first round and qualified for the World Group by defeating Canada 5-0 play-off.

WILL THE WILLIAMS SISTERS PLAY?
Because it is highly unlikely that Jennifer Capriati will ever play Fed Cup again after getting kicked off the team by captain Billie Jean King in Charlotte, King is again likely to ask Serena and Venus Williams to play next year in hopes of bringing back the Cup, which the U.S hasn't won since 2000. The Williamses have only played one tie in the 1999 final, when the U.S., beat Russia at Stanford University. King will also likely ask her stalwarts (Lindsay Davenport, Monica Seles, Lisa Raymond and Meghann Shaughnessy) to play again.

The Czechs are lead by teen Daja Bedanova, who's been in a sophomore slump this year and is currently ranked No. 38. Bedanova is best known for knocking Seles out of the '01 US Open. From there, the Czechs fall off significantly, with No. 65 Denisa Chladkova, No. 75 Iveta Benesova and No. 104 Libuse Prusova
The complete 2003 Fed Cup draw, in draw order, is as follows: