Great Britain have been drawn away to Mexico in April’s Fed Cup play-offs.
Britain’s defeat by Slovakia last weekend means they must beat Mexico to avoid dropping back into the Europe/Africa Zone and give themselves another chance of reaching finals week next year.
Captain Anne Keothavong will despair at yet another away tie, particularly one so far away and likely to again be staged on clay.
#DidYouKnow Great Britain have faced Mexico once before in the @FedCup in 1973 with the Brits taking a 3-0 win courtesy of Virginia Wade & Joyce Williams 👍 Look forward to the next edition 👉 https://t.co/a6jRuIkGBs pic.twitter.com/I1IwBaR8lC — LTA (@the_LTA) February 11, 2020
A long trip means Keothavong’s faint hopes of persuading Johanna Konta, who has said she will not play in the competition this year, to change her mind appear non-existent.
But, in terms of quality of opposition, the draw could have been a lot less favourable.
Mexican number one Marcela Zacarias is ranked 257th so the likes of Heather Watson and Harriet Dart, who acquitted herself well on her singles debut in the competition, should feel confident of securing victory.
📂 @FedCup L📂 Epic Rallies L📂 Match points L📂 Never give up L📂 @harriet_dart #BackTheBrits 🇬🇧 #MondayMotivation pic.twitter.com/28WeTccctT — LTA (@the_LTA) February 10, 2020
Keothavong said: “Mexico will present a challenge as it’s a long way to travel. However, we’ll go there with the belief that we can win.
“I know the players and fantastic backroom team will do everything they can to make sure we get another chance to qualify for the finals again next year.”
The tie will be played from April 17-18 at a venue to be decided.
