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REGGIO CALABRIA, Italy : Italy will head into the Fed Cup final against the United States here this weekend as the overwhelming favourites with both Williams sisters missing from the visitors' line-up.
Had either Serena or Venus been available it would have made a huge difference.
But despite winning Sunday's season-ending Tour Championships final in Doha, Serena, who hasn't played Fed Cup since 2007, pulled out, citing exhaustion.
Venus, defeated by her sister in Doha, was not selected by US captain Mary Jo Fernandez.
Both sisters were carrying injuries and wore heavy strapping on their legs in the Doha final.
It means that 2006 champions Italy, the runners-up in 2007 to Russia, will be expected to dominate, particularly given they will play on clay.
The US will feature doubles specialist Liezel Huber while their singles hopes will be pinned to teenager Melanie Oudin and Alexa Glatch, a 20-year-old who has never even been ranked in the world's top 100.
Italy captain Corrado Barazzutti said he isn't reading too much into the absence of the Williams sisters.
"The absence of the Williams sisters makes no difference to us. Our girls are focussed on the athletes they will face here in Reggio and their aim is to play in the best possible condition," he said.
Italy have picked their best four players with two of them currently ranked in the world's top 20.
Both Flavia Pennetta and Francesca Schiavone are having their best ever seasons with Pennetta becomming the first Italian woman to reach the top 10, while also winning back-to-back tournaments in Palermo and Los Angeles along the way.
Schiavone triumphed in the one million dollar Moscow tournament this season and also came from a set down to beat French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in the Fed Cup semi-final.
On top of that, Italy have Roberta Vinci in their squad, a player who has never lost a doubles rubber in the Fed Cup in 13 matches.
Even Huber, the top ranked doubles player in the world who has won four Grand Slams, has lost twice in Fed Cup doubles matches.
It all looks daunting for the Americans, although they are used to battling on without the Williams sisters, who have not played in team competition since 2007.
There is some hope, Oudin, 18, who is ranked 49 in the world, has proved already this season that she has the big game mentality.
She came through qualifying at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon and has beaten two former world number ones this season in Grand Slams.
She defeated Jelena Jankovic to reach the last 16 at Wimbledon and knocked out former Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova at the US Open before reaching the quarter-finals.
Glatch has not shown that kind of form but she did thrash Pennetta 6-1, 6-1 in the French Open first round this year, and that was on the same surface they will play on here.
- AFP/vm
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