NEW YORK, (Reuters) – Melanie Oudin will assume the leading role when the United States meet Russia in their Fed Cup semi-final this weekend in Birmingham, Alabama.
The top-ranked Williams sisters Venus and Serena are out injured so Oudin, ranked a career-high 31, will play Russian number two Alla Kudryavtseva in the opening match today.
Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the US will then square off against world number six Elena Dementieva.
“I played Alla this year at the Australian Open and lost in a tough three-setter,” Oudin said on the US Tennis Association website (www.usta.com) yesterday.
