By Tony Fairbairn
- Harriet Dart believes Great Britain have nothing to fear as they prepare for a first round clash with Germany
- 12 teams will battle in Malaga for the right to be Billie Jean King Cup champions
MALAGA, SPAIN – Harriet Dart believes Great Britain can beat anyone as they prepare to take on Germany in the first round of the Billie Jean King Cup Finals.
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It’s time for Great Britain to take centre stage at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals as they prepare for an eventful week in Malaga. The British team compete in the 12 team event to crown the champions of the event. First up for Anne Keothavong’s side will be Germany in the first round with the winners taking on defending champions Canada in the quarter-finals.
The tie against Germany will be one of four first round ties with the other ties seeing Slovakia take on USA, Spain will face Poland while Japan clash with Romania. The other three teams that advance to the quarter-finals are Australia, Czech Republic and Italy. First round ties will take place on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday with Britain’s tie with Germany being the last of the ties.
The rest of the tournament will be played from Saturday onwards with the final set to be next Wednesday, 20th of November. This will be the final year of the current format with next year set to be an eight team format in order to mirror the Davis Cup final eight format.
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Dart believes Britain can beat anyone as teams announced
Great Britain’s team in Malaga will be led by British number one Katie Boulter and former US Open champion Emma Raducanu, who has fitness concerns heading into the event. Making up the rest of the team are Harriet Dart, Heather Watson and Olivia Nicholls with Mingge Xu there as an alternate.
It’s a big week for the British team who are in with a chance of creating British tennis history. Although there are some big names competing in Malaga, Dart believes that this team can beat anyone in the draw although they are wary of the threat that Germany possesses.
“They have a really strong team. They might not have that standout player, but they have really good depth in their squad,” Dart told the Eurosport website about the German squad.
“They have a lot of experience in their team as well as youth. You never know who they’ll play, how they’re feeling. Equally, we have a very strong team and, on our day, I think we can beat anyone.”
Leading the German team will be the experienced Laura Siegemund with singles stars Jule Niemeier, Tatjana Maria and Eva Lys also in the squad. Doubles specialist Anna-Lena Friedsam completes the team who are captained by Rainer Schuettler. Should Britain get past Germany then they will play defending champions Canada who are led by Leylah Fernandez although Bianca Andreescu is missing from their team this year.
Other top names that are playing in Malaga this week include Paula Badosa, Roland Garros and Wimbledon finalist Jasmine Paolini as well as world number two Iga Swiatek. Here are the complete team nominations for the event with play beginning on Wednesday.
Team Nominations
Great Britain
Katie Boulter
Emma Raducanu
Harriet Dart
Heather Watson
Olivia Nicholls
Captain: Anne Keothavong
Germany
Laura Siegemund
Jule Niemeier
Tatjana Maria
Eva Lys
Anna-Lena Friedsam
Captain: Rainer Schuttler
Canada
Leylah Fernandez
Rebecca Marino
Marina Stakusic
Gabriela Dabrowski
Captain: Heidi El Tabakh
Australia
Ajla Tomljanovic
Olivia Gadecki
Kimberly Birrell
Daria Saville
Ellen Perz
Captain: Sam Stosur
Czech Republic
Linda Noskova
Marie Bouzkova
Katerina Siniakova
Sara Bejlek
Captain: Petr Pala
Italy
Jasmine Paolini
Elisabetta Cocciaretto
Lucia Bronzetti
Sara Errani
Martina Trevisan
Captain: Tathiana Garbin
Japan
Moyuka Uchijima
Ena Shibahara
Nao Hibino
Eri Hozumi
Shuko Aoyama
Captain: Ai Sugiyama
Poland
Iga Swiatek
Magdalena Frech
Magda Linette
Maja Chwalinska
Katarzyna Kawa
Captain: Dawid Celt
Romania
Jaqueline Cristian
Anca Todoni
Ana Bogdan
Elena Gabriela Ruse
Monica Niculescu
Captain: Horia Tecau
Slovakia
Rebecca Sramkova
Anna Karolina Schmiedlova
Viktoria Hruncakova
Renata Jamrichova
Tereza Mihalikova
Captain: Matej Liptak
Spain
Paula Badosa
Jessica Bouzas Maneiro
Nuria Parrizas-Diaz
Sara Sorribes Tormo
Marina Bassols Ribera
Captain: Anabel Medina Garrigues
USA
Danielle Collins
Peyton Stearns
Ashlyn Krueger
Taylor Townsend
Caroline Dolehide
Captain: Lindsay Davenport
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