Alicia Molik Says Aussie Team Will Be More Prepared Next Year
Tennis - Australia's Fed Cup captain Alicia Molik says her team will learn from their loss to France in the Fed Cup final in Perth on Sunday and will come back stronger next year.
Speaking to reporters after the loss to France, Molik told reporters, “There’s no question you become better from experiences; good, bad or indifferent. This one is probably a bad experience having lost in the final, but it’s pretty amazing that this group of players get to feel what it’s like to be in a decider. So, now we’ve been there and done that, the next challenge is to take it a step further.”
Australia were beaten in the deciding doubles rubber, dashing their hopes to win the Fed Cup for the first time since 1974.
Molik says she expects the team to be back in the final once again next year when the tournament would be held in a new format. "The last couple of years we’ve expected to be a team that is in the final and next year because of our level we will expect to be in another Fed Cup final. I think we’ll be stronger, more resilient and more prepared because we’ve lived this moment. What we’ll do is use this moment as fuel really to drive us into the future.”
A piece of good news for Molik is that veteran Sam Stosur, who partnered with Ashleigh Barty in the doubles loss, said she would not be retiring yet and hopes to play next year as well.
Earlier this year, the ITF announced a new ‘World Cup of Tennis’ format for Fed Cup by BNP Paribas which will see the Fed Cup Finals being held in Budapest, Hungary on 14-19 April 2020. The Finals will be staged at the Laszlo Papp Budapest Sports Arena on clay for 2020-2022.
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