Australia captained by Alicia Molik, will host Julien Benneteau’s France, outdoors on the Plexicushion Prestige hard court at RAC Arena, after the two nations won exciting semi final ties in April this year.
For Australia, it required a three set victory in the final (doubles) rubber against Belarus, and for France similarly against Romania.
Coming into the final, the rankings of team members is interesting.
One player stands out as possibly the key to the whole event and of course that is the world number one, and last weeks winner of the season ending WTA Finals in Shenzhen, Ash Barty.
Barty will no doubt play singles, but also doubles, where she is ranked #19.
The next highest ranked Australian is Ajla Tomljanovic at #51, and this is the first time Ajla has been eligible to play for the country she adopted as her own.
Sam Stosur (96) played two singles runners against Belarus, was part of the winning doubles combination, and is the long time stalwart of the team. Stosur is the highest ranked Australian doubles player at #15, and just last week made the semis at the WTA Finals in Shenzhen.
Other players in the squad, if maybe not the final playing line-up, are Astra Sharma (107) and Priscilla Hon (123). Both have had progressive years - Sharma hit a career high ranking of #85 mid 2019. Her win in an ITF tournament in Irapuato was followed by a finals appearance in the WTA international category Claro Open in Bogotá.
Priscilla Hon partnered Barty in the doubles clinching rubber against the USA to allow Australia to progress beyond the first round of the Fed Cup.
France has a wealth of experience, and can draw on the following players to give Australia a close contest.
Kristina (‘Kiki’) Mladenovic (39) has been as high as #10, and has had wins over Kerber, Svitolina and Bertens in the last couple of months. And she defeated Ash Barty in straight sets in Rome in May.
Significantly, Kiki is the top ranked doubles player in the world, and lifted the WTA Finals trophy last week with partner Timea Babos. If Babos was French, Alicia Molik would have a headache or two more than she has now.
Caroline Garcia is ranked #45, but is a former top five player, and although Barty has won their past two meetings, this year in Wuhan took three sets.
Alizé Cornet ten years ago almost cracked the top ten, and was a top twenty player as recently as 2015. Now she hovers around the 30-50s, presently sitting at #59. Cornet defeated Stosur in their last meeting in Gstaad last year, but lost to Tomljanovic in Indian Wells earlier this year.
Pauline Parmentier is the lowest ranked in the team at #122, but is a former top 50 player (#54 at start of 2019), and was the star for France against Romania. With France down 1-2, Parmentier replaced Mladenovic in the reverse singles and kept her country alive, defeating Irina-Camelia Begu in three sets.
At 33, she shares veteran status with Sam Stosur for this final. She defeated Stosur in the Bronx this year.
Fiona Ferro is the fast rising young player in the French squad - ranked #325 two years ago, she is now #63. She defeated Stosur in qualifying in Lausanne this year, but has lost all her three matches against Tomljanovic, most recently in Rabat this year.
Having said all that, the draw has just been done:
Day One Singles
Ajla Tomljanovic v Kristina Mladenović
Ashleigh Barty v Caroline Garcia
Day Two Singles
Ashleigh Barty v Kristina Mladenović
Ajla Tomljanovic v Caroline Garcia
Doubles
Ashleigh Barty / Samantha Stosur v
Kristina Mladenović / Caroline Garcia
Good luck and good tennis !
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