By Etienne Stekelenburg
October 29 2002

The today’s draw for the 2002 Fed Cup Semi-final showed that the first Semi-final will be played between Austria and Spain. The second semi-final is between the Slovak Republic and Italy. Both semi-finals will be played on the 30th and 31st October as best of five matches. The Gran Canaria Fed Cup final are played indoors at the Palacio Congresos de Maspalomas on hard courts from 30 October to 3 November.

There will be a day of rest on the 1st of November when the draw for the finals will be made. On the same day the draw for the Fed Cup 2003 season will be made as well.

The 2002 finals will be played on 2 and 3 November. Both nations that qualify must nominate their team on Friday the 1st. The nominated teams may be different from the teams that played the semi-final

The Line up is as follows:

Wednesday 30 November
11.00 Spain vs Austria
Conchita Martinez vs Patricia Wartusch
Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario vs Barbara Schett

17.00 Slovak Republic vs Italy
Daniela Hantuchova vs Francesca Schiavone
Janette Hasurova vs Silvia Farina Elia

Thursday 31 November
11.00 Spain vs Austria
Conchita Martinez vs Barbara Schett
Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario vs Patricia Wartusch

1700 Slovak Republic vs Italy
Daniela Hantuchova vs Silvia Farina Elia
Janette Hasurova vs Francesca Schiavone

Of the four nations that will play only Spain has advanced as far as the Fed Cup finals. Spain won the Fed Cup competition five times.

Both Fed Cup veterans Sanchez-Vicario and Martinez are looking for their sixth Fed Cup victory, Martinez joins the Fed Cup team for the first time this year.

Austria will be missing Barbara Schwartz who is not playing due to a wrist injury. Austria leads Spain in their head-to-head having won their previous Fed Cup meeting in Brazil 1984.

Italy and the Slovak Republic have no history of meeting each other in the Fed Cup competition. The number 9th ranked Hantuchova will be playing doubles as well probably with Hasurova.

Both the semi-finals and the final will be a best of five matches, four singles and a possible deciding double as last match.

The ITF Fed Cup Committee confirmed the seeds for the 2003 Fed Cup Competition.
Seed 1 and 2: USA and France
Seed 3 and 4: Russia and Belgium
Seed 5 to 8: Italy, Slovak Republic, Spain and Argentina.

The Fed Cup Committee also considered penalties for Japan after their withdrawal from the Fed Cup Play off match against Colombia. The Committee agreed that because of the mitigating circumstances Japan didn’t have to pay a fine or suspension.

They will have to pay the cost for expenses to the ITF and Colombia. They will also not forfeit their choice of ground in the first meeting.