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Arina Rodionova will represent Australia as their second singles player in the 2016 Fed Cup facing a tough challenge in the first rubber, when she takes on world No.29, Anna Karolina Schmiedlova. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 12am (AEDT).
Schmiedlova as a seeding at the recent Australian Open was one of the many to bomb out in the early rounds. She suffered a demoralising straight sets loss to Darya Kasatkina in the first round.
Before that, she was in what could be called very ordinary form and this will certainly have her doubting a few things heading into this match.
Rodionova meanwhile, after having to qualify for the Open, made it all the way to the third round. She managed to record wins against low-ranked opponents Stephanie Vogt and Ying-Ying Duan before falling to Viktorija Golubic.
Interestingly, neither player loves playing on the hard courts all that much, although Schmiedlova who has won five of her seven previous Fed Cup matches is in the drivers seat, holding a 60 per cent winning average on hard courts.
The pair have never faced off before this match, and with the massive gap in world rankings and experience, you would have to think Schmiedlova holds the advantage in that regard.
The first rubber is such an important one in any Fed or Davis Cup, and this will be no exception. The talent goes right throughout the Slovakian team, and it looks like it will be a real uphill battle for the Australians, meaning they need an upset win from somewhere. There would certainly be no better place to start than this first rubber.
Prediction
Rodionova being picked for singles surprised many, with Casey Dellacqua and Kimberly Birrell missing out. It’s hard to see the tactic of playing Rodionova working for Australia though, with Schmiedlova being one of the better players on the world circuit, despite her early Australian Open exit. The talent gap between the pair is just too great.
Schmiedlova in straight sets, Australia in trouble early on.
Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of the first rubber at the 2016 Fed Cup first round between Australia and Slovakia from 12am (AEDT) and don’t forget to leave a comment if you’re following along with the action.
Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde