McHale, Oudin to lead U.S. vs. Germany in playoff

STUTTGART, Germany (AP)?Andrea Petkovic will open Germany?s Fed Cup playoff series against the United States by facing Christina McHale.

Petkovic is No. 19 in the world and is Germany?s top-ranked player, while 18-year-old McHale has just reached a career-high No. 82. They have not played each other before.

Julia Goerges will meet Melanie Oudin of the United States in Saturday?s second singles match. The reverse singles and the doubles are Sunday on the indoor red-clay court in the Porsche Arena.

The winner of the best-of-five series will remain in the World Group. The United States has won the competition a record 17 times but could drop down for the first time.

?It is great that we have a very versatile team,? U.S. captain Mary Joe Fernandez said. ?Both Melanie and Christina have been playing on the clay and doing well.?

Vania King and Liezel Huber were provisionally selected to play doubles for the U.S. team, although Fernandez can change the lineup. The doubles will be necessary only if the series is tied at 2-2 after the singles.

Sabine Lisicki and Anna-Lena Groenefeld are Germany?s doubles players.

Oudin, who is also still a teenager at 19, recently beat Goerges in Miami.

?I feel like we have been practicing really well and we are ready for tough matches this weekend,? Oudin said. ?Whenever you lose to someone, if you play them again a few weeks later, you want to get revenge on them. She is going to bring some good tennis, so I have to be ready.?

Petkovic is enjoying her best season and cracked the top 20 after reaching the semifinals in Miami.

?I always enjoy playing Fed Cup,? said Petkovic, who is 4-0 in the competition.

McHale said she was pleased to be starting.

?There won?t be any results yet, so I can just go play and see what happens,? she said. ?I think each day all of us are getting more used to the surface and conditions. We will just give it our all and see how it goes.?

The United States is without the Williams sisters, who are still recovering from injuries and illness.

Source: http://feeds.tennis.com/~r/tenniscom-news/~3/LGCTTbao_Dg/

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