Gauff to start as USA and Austria go head-to-head in Delray

USA and Austria go head-to-head in Delray Beach this weekend with both teams looking to book their place in the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge Finals.

For the hosts, captain Kathy Rinaldi has the luxury of being able to name two top 10 singles players in No. 3 Jessica Pegula and No. 6 Coco Gauff. Both players live in Florida and for Gauff, in particular, she will be playing in her home town at the club where she practises out of competition.

Regardless of the fact that they have the higher-ranked players and the home crowd in their favour, US captain Kathy Rinaldi said her preparations for the tie remain the same.

“We're not taking this lightly,” said Rinaldi, who has been US skipper since 2017. “We're going in prepared. We're going to prepare like we prepare for any other tie, not be overconfident.

“We have a lot of respect for our opponents. I'm sure they're going to come out and play at their best, and that's what we're going to try to do, too, play at our best.”

The fact that the Americans have lost their last two encounters with Austria has not gone unmentioned in Delray this week and the fact that Austrian captain Marion Maruska competed in one of those ties means that the visitors know only too well that anything can happen in this competition.

“I have a lot of memories [of defeating USA in 2002],” Maruska explained. “We were the complete underdogs. Some of our players couldn't play that week. We only played against top 10 players.

“The whole week we were talking about it first for fun, then it came true, especially after the first day when we were up 2-0.

“I have great memories, of course, because it was a big surprise. The Austrians, the press, nobody came because everybody thought we were going to lose.”

The hosts will be hoping it’s not a case of history repeating.

USA and Austria are fighting for a spot in November’s Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge Finals. USA have featured at both the previous editions of the Finals in 2021 and 2022, but it would be a first appearance for Austria at the competition’s new-look showpiece were they to pull off the victory.

The full draw is as follows:

Friday 14 April

Coco Gauff (USA) v Julia Grabher (AUT)
Jessica Pegula (USA) v Sinja Kraus (AUT)

Saturday 15 April*

Jessica Pegula (USA) v Julia Grabher (AUT)
Coco Gauff (USA) v Sinja Kraus (AUT)
Danielle Collins/Caty McNally (USA) v Melanie Klaffner/Sinja Kraus (AUT)

*Saturday’s nominations are subject to change