Great Britain’s Fed Cup captain Anne Keothavong is happy to be playing at home what she has described a tough tie against Kazakhstan.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Great Britain’s team’s unique preparation as they played alongside the West Ham women’s football team, Keothavong said she was happy to name their strongest squad possible against Kazakhstan.
She also said there was nothing to choose between the two teams, but the presence of home support for the squad consisting of Johanna Konta, Katie Boulter, Heather Watson, Harriet Dart and Katie Swan would give them an edge going into this encounter.
Also present during the preparation were West Ham’s Brianna Visalli, Anna Moorhouse, Tessel Middag and Brooke Hendriin, all of whom featured in a friendly against the the Great Britain side. They met for their training at east London’s Queen Elizabeth Park.
Speaking to the media, the Great Britain captain said:
“There is little to separate the two teams in terms of rankings but I’m confident the home fans will give all our players an inspirational lift just like we had in Bath earlier in February.”
Explaining the decision to feature in a training session that involved the West Ham football side, she said:
“It’s also very important to our team to open up our sport to new fans and increase awareness of tennis at different times of the year.”
Britain have beaten Greece, Slovenia, Hungary and Serbia to make it this far and a win against Kazakhstan will take them to the Fed Cup World Group for the first time in 26 years.
Meanwhile Yulia Putintseva said she she hoped she could take Kazakhstan to the World Group for the first time with a win over Britain. Kazakhstan have never made it there before despite having qualified this far thrice now.
Speaking to the official ITF website, Putintseva said:
“I’m very excited. It’s the third time that we’ve qualified for the play-offs, but with me, it’s only the second time so I’m very excited.”
Also joining Putintseva in the line-up will be Zarina Diyas, Anna Danilina and Galina Voskoboeva.
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