Fed Cup Cleveland Gets More Interesting as Rising Americans Face Italian B Team
The air is slowly being let out of the balloon of the event known as Fed Cup Cleveland.
Just ten days ago, we were getting rosy progress reports from the USTA on ticket sales and an announcement that more seats were made available due to surging demand.
On Sunday, Italy dropped a bombshell. Their entire front four were given permission to ditch Cleveland.
No, no one on the Italian side is injured. They just don’t want the jet lag that would accompany the trip to Cleveland in between Doha and Paris. Life on the road is tough. I get you. Capiche.
But ALL 4 OF YOU? That’s just mean.
Today’s announcement of the US team of Alison Riske, Lauren Davis, Madison Keys and Christina McHale is a good news-bad news thing.
I’m thrilled for some of our rising talent to participate in the international event, and these four should match up well with the Italian Serie B. And Sloane Stephens and Serena Williams need the recovery time. Capiche.
But for those poor souls in Cleveland who saw Serena and Sloane on the billboards and bought up tickets, there must be an incredible letdown there. The buzz won’t be the same without Serena and Sloane in attendance.
An anonymous blogger sent me a direct message earlier in the week. “You’ve got Team Italy and you’ve got Team Sh*taly. And guess which one’s headed to Cleveland?” Of course, I cannot agree with that characterization.
However, I will agree that this looks more like a round of 2012 Charleston qualifying than a World Group match against a defending champion.
But if my personal favorite, Alison Riske, gets to check off a bucket-list item, then I definitely look forward to it too.
Tennis Atlantic 