Freshly crowned Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber will lead Germany in the weekend’s Fed Cup first round tie against Switzerland as she never considered withdrawing in the wake of the Melbourne title.
“It was always clear that I would come here. It is always a big honour for me (to play Fed Cup),” Kerber told reporters in Leipzig yesterday.
Kerber had her biggest career success last Saturday when she beat world number one Serena Williams in the Australian Open final and rose to number two in the rankings. She came to Leipzig on Tuesday after spending a day at her Polish residence.
German captain Barbara Rittner did not want to reveal whether she will field Kerber in singles but said it was time to look ahead at the weekend tie. The other team members are Andrea Petkovic, Annika Beck and Anna-Lena Groenefeld. “We must tick off this great event and focus on the weekend. That will be deciding,” Rittner said.
Germany are aiming for a third Fed Cup title following earlier success in 1987 and 1992. They reached the final in 2014 but lost to Czech Republic.
Angelique Kerber
