Czech Republic grabs 2020 Fed Cup Finals wild card
The first edition of the Fed Cup Finals will take place in Budapest between April 14-19 2020, with 12 countries fighting for the prestigious title at the Laszlo Papp Budapest Sports Aren on an indoor clay court. The host team of Hungary and 2019 finalists Australia and France have already secured the place in Budapest and the fourth confirmed country is the Czech Republic, receiving the wild card that allows them to skip the Qualifiers round next February. The 11-time champions have been the dominant team in the competition since 2011, winning six of the last eight titles and advancing into eight straight World Group semi-finals before losing to Romania 3-2 in the opening round in February after an epic battle.
Karolina Pliskova, Simona Halep (twice) and Katerina Siniakova delivered four singles win to keep the result locked up at 2-2 before the deciding doubles rubber that Irina-Camelia Begu and Monica Niculescu won 6-7, 6-4, 6-4 against Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova in just under three hours to dethrone the Czechs. Bouncing back, the Czech Republic beat Canada 4-0 in the Play-Off round in April to keep their position in the top-tier Wortld Group before the changes that ITF implemented to improve the competition and bring more players to the top under the national colors. Sixteen countries will battle for the remaining eight spots in Budapest in February, making the legendary competition more quicker and less demanding, abandoning the old pattern of three rounds in February, April and November to determine the champion.
David Haggerty said: “Czech Republic has a long and proud history in Fed Cup by BNP Paribas and deserves its place at the all-new 2020 Fed Cup Finals. The Czechs have been the team to beat in Fed Cup over the last decade, with Petr Pala having led the team through a remarkable period of dominance. We look forward to an exciting competition in Budapest next year.”
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2L7Bxq1
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