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| 18 Nov 2003 | |
| Fed Cup 2004 World Group Seedings and 2004 Zone Groups Announced |
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) today announced the seeded nations for the Fed Cup World Group 2004. The draw for the 2004 World Group takes place on Friday, 21 November 2003, at the Olympic Stadium in Moscow, following the Draw for the 2003 Final, which starts at 13:00 hrs (10:00 GMT).
The seeded nations for next year are:
Seeds #1-2: USA, Belgium
Seeds #3-4: Russia, France
Seeds #5-8: Italy, Japan, Slovak Republic, Spain
They will be drawn against Argentina, Australia, Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Slovenia and Switzerland.
The ITF’s Fed Cup Committee, chaired by Dr Georg von Waldenfels (GER), makes all seeding decisions for the competition, and met by conference call to finalise these seedings. Other members of the Committee are Jane Brown (USA), Ann Jones (GBR), Pierre-Paul de Keghel (BEL), Aleksei Selivanenko (RUS) and Nathalie Tauziat (FRA - Observer).
The criteria for seeding, used by the Fed Cup Committee, includes the ITF Fed Cup Nations Ranking, rankings of players likely to participate, experience on different surfaces, past performances in the competition, experience in doubles and other relevant criteria.
The Fed Cup World Group first round ties will take place on 24-25 April 2004, with the Quarterfinals on 10-11 July, and the Semifinals and Final in the week commencing 22 November.
The ITF has also announced the nations participating in Groups I, II and III for 2004. The Europe/Africa Zone will have three groups next year, while in the Americas and Asia/Oceania Zones there are two groups. (Group III nations in Asia/Oceania Zone have been amalgamated into Group II). All of these events will be played in the week commencing Monday 19 April 2004, except for Europe/Africa Zone Groups II & III which will be played - both at the same venue in Malta - the week commencing Monday 26th April.
A list of nations competing in these Zones and Groups, with venues where confirmed, are below. A total of 90 nations are entered in the Fed Cup 2004.
Europe/Africa Zone, Group I - Venue TBC
Nations (14): Belarus, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Serbia & Montenegro, South Africa, Sweden, Ukraine.
Europe/Africa Zone Group II - Malta
Nations (11): Egypt, Finland, Georgia, Great Britain, Ireland, Latvia, Luxembourg, Morocco, Portugal, Romania and Turkey.
Europe/Africa Zone Group III, Malta
Nations (11): Algeria, Angola, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Botswana, Kenya*, Lesotho, FYR Macedonia, Malta, Namibia*, Norway, Tunisia.
Asia/Oceania Zone Group I - India
Nations (10): China PR, Chinese Taipei, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Thailand, Uzbekistan
Asia/Oceania Zone Group II - India
Nations (8): Bangladesh*, China Hong Kong, Jordan*, Pacific Oceania, Singapore*, Syria, Turkmenistan, Vietnam
Americas Zone Group I - Brazil, TBC
Nations (9): Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, El Salvador, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Uruguay
Americas Zone Group II - Brazil, TBC
Nations (11): Bahamas, Bermuda, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Jamaica, Panama, Paraguay, Venezuela
* Denotes a new nation / entry for 2004.
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