United States looks to upset Czechs in Fed Cup semifinal

The tennis world went wild on Wednesday when it was confirmed that Serena Williams is expecting a baby in the fall. But while Williams will obviously not be competing for the United States in the Fed Cup semifinals this weekend, two of the Top 5-ranked Americans are leading the charge against an also shorthanded, yet dangerous, Czech Republic team.

The Czechs just happen to be the defending Fed Cup champions.

But three of the players who helped win that title—Karolina Pliskova, Barbora Strycova and Petra Kvitova—are not competing, offsetting the United States’ lack of the Williams sisters and Madison Keys.

If you judged the matchup solely by rankings, it would appear that the Americans have a fairly significant advantage, with world No. 24 Coco Vandeweghe and No. 36 Lauren Davis both being ranked higher than the top Czech player, world No. 38 Katerina Siniakova.

It’ll be interesting to see how Czech captain Petr Pala adjusts his lineup throughout the course of the weekend. His lowest-ranked player, No. 117 Marketa Vondrousova, just won her first WTA title in Biel.

Kristyna Pliskova, Karolina’s twin sister, has started to emerge from her sister’s shadow, earning five Top 40 victories so far this year. Should she play, as expected, Pliskova should be able to challenge anyone with her big left-handed serve. She’s been waiting for a chance to represent her country, too.

“I hope I can play Fed Cup one day,” Pliskova told*WTA Insider* in March. “I think it can be soon.”

She was right.

But while the United States had not made the semifinals since 2010, look for them to take advantage of the inexperienced Czechs and the home crowd in Florida to reach the Fed Cup final in November, possibly using the help of veteran Bethanie Mattek-Sands to secure the doubles rubber at the end of the weekend and with it, the tie.

Action begins on Saturday at 12 p.m. EST.

Watch the Fed Cup Semifinals this weekend on Tennis Channel Plus.