On Thursday afternoon in Kralijevo, Serbia the draw was made for this weekend tie between Canada and Serbia for the playoff.
The matchups are as follows and will begin on Friday with the following schedule.
Leylah Fernandez vs Olga Danilovic
Rebecca Marino vs Nina Stojanovic
The reverse singles will be played on Saturday in this best of 5 with the doubles matchup coming up last featuring Sharon Fichman and Carol Zhao up against Olga Danilovic and Aleksandra Krunic.
After the draw we got hear from team captain Heidi El Tabakh, Rebecca Marino and Leylah Fernandez.
El Tabakh is happy with the draw and is actually what she expected from her projections.
“It is what we expected, it’s going to be a tough matchup as all four singles players have had a great start to the year, Leylah (Fernadez) and Olga (Danilovic) are both lefties so I think it’s going to be a great match, going to be a fun match, Leylah been playing pretty well, she’s had a great start to the year, she’s had a great preparation so I know she’s ready physically and mentally ready to go, it’s going to be a good fight but I’m confident”
Rebecca Marino as previously mentioned has had a great start to the year qualifying for the Australian Open and making it to the second round and she is looking forward to representing her country once again.
“I’m really excited for this tie, I think I played Serbia once 10 years ago so it’s nice to be back, my match against Nina (Stojanovic) I don’t know much about her game but I will make sure we do the research as a team to make sure I’m well prepared and ready for the match, It’s always fun to play for Canada with the maple leaf on my shirt so I’m going to try my best and give it 100%”.
Leylah Fernandez who is also have an amazing season winning her first WTA title in Monterrey couldn’t hold back her excitement level but she knows she will have to stay focused and be ready for anything.
“It’s a good draw, the Serbian team is a tough one but I’m confident in myself and my team to do what we can to get the win”.
El Tabakh, Marino and Fernandez all agreed on the fact that playing in an empty stadium with no fans will be different but they are all counting on each other to bring each other motivation.
“We’re going to miss the fans and the atmosphere, tomorrow is just like any other match, we’re going to work hard, we’re going to take it seriously Fernandez added.
The action gets underway Friday at 2:00pm local time and Saturday matches are slated to begin at 11:00am.
