Maria Sharapova will headline the field at the upcoming Fed Cup final as she bids to grab the title which has eluded her throughout her career.
The 28-year-old has reached No.1 in the world, claimed 35 WTA titles, won every Grand Slam at least once and has an Olympic silver medal to her name. Despite her impressive trophy collection, the Fed Cup trophy is still missing from her triumphant cabinet.
Sharapova will lead the Russian team in the final against the Czech Republic this weekend. The clash will be hosted at the O2 Arena in Prague, Czech Republic. It will be unfamiliar territory for the Russian, who will play in the Fed Cup for just the fifth time in her career. Prior to the final, Sharapova has played in the quarterfinal of the tournament four times between 2008-2015.
During a pre-draw press conference in Prague, Sharapova admitted that she was entering unfamiliar territory as she praised her team.
“It’s a new experience,” said Sharapova. “I’ve been part of the team on different occasions, but never in the final. There’s an incredible opportunity for me. It was a huge victory for the girls beating Germany in Sochi as I couldn’t be there and I don’t think many people thought we would come through.”
Joining Sharapova in the Russian team will be Ekaterina Makarova, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Elena Vesnina. The team will have their work cut out against the Czech Republic, who has won the title in three out of the last four years (2011, 2012 and 2014). The Czech team will consist of four top 50 players (Petra Kvitova, Lucie Safarova, Karolina Pliskova and Barbora Strycova).
With the prospect of playing the defending champions on their home soil, Sharapova has acknowledged that she and her team will be the underdogs in the final.
“We are going into this final as underdogs”. Sharapova said during the press conference.
“We expect a stadium full of Czechs – I’m sure there will be some Russian flags flying around – but there will be more Czechs in the stadium than Russians. Our full concentration will be on what is ahead of us and not on what’s going on around us”.
This year, Sharapova has had a poor record against Czech players, with a win-loss of 0-3 (including her retirement against Barbora Strycova in Wuhan). In the fourth round of the French Open she lost in straight sets to Lucie Safarova and during the WTA Finals she lost to Petra Kvitova.
The two-day final will get underway on Saturday November 14th.
