[fresh2flash]

And they often get injured together

[the cat]

So true Freshy! So true!

[Cassius]

Sorry about saying Myskina played in the doubles . My teletext said Dementieva/Myskina, so, naturally I thought it was. I have now corrected the error.

All it needs is for Dementieva or Kournikova to win a title and then the other girls will follow suit.
If Dementieva wins it will inspire confidence because I think the younger, more inexperienced girls see her as a kind of talisman. If she does well, they usually do well also.
If Kournikova wins, I think it will spur Dementieva on because Elena has said that Kournikova is not part of the group, and I think she'd love to put one over on the 'glamour-girl'.

I agree with EGGY. I think Lina (if she is fit) has the best chance of any of the Russian girls to win a tournament. I just hope she doesn't 'do an Elena'. Or (even worse) 'do an Anna'.

Does anyone know if there is a FED Cup website?
Or where theres a website where I can find pics?

[Irish]

Originally posted by fresh2flash
We need BJK to remain the captain of the US team

lol @ Fresh2flash. That was a good one.

[Irish]

There are some really good photos to see of Elena Dementieva, Anastasia Myskina, and Elena Bovina from Fed Cup 2002 at a site you may have visited before. None of Elena L. but from other tournaments. I don't think I have ever seen Elena D.'s whole face before since she always wears her visor or is turned sideways.

They are Copyrighted by Patrick Becher at

http://www.medienpublikation.de

Click on Picture Database (public), which is third block on left, then click on the second choice in the center 'picture database without indexes (faster)' and they will give you a list of players on the left side to choose from. Very easy to get to.

[Cassius]

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!! Thats a GREAT site!!!!!!!!!!
Its got pictures of EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks IRISH.

[Irish]

You're welcome Cassius. It does have a lot of many players and I have barely been able to see all my players yet.

[ys]

It looks like the results gave as a good idea who will be playing for Russia this year.

Elena B. , Nastya seem to be the best candidates, almost locks to be playing singles. But other than that, I have no idea. We have such a huge pool - Elena D., Tanya, Vera, Dinara, Elena L. Nadya, Lina, Sveta, Anna, with bunch of Marias coming up. Either two of them can complement the team.

Elena D. going out from the first position somewhat opens up the possibility of Anna coming back to team, but from what I remember, while Anna and Elena D. animousity was kind of quiet and never get scandalous, it was a bit worse between Anna and Elena B. Well, it was few years ago, so things could have changed.. But Anna is a good, solid all-rounder, so I would not rule her out. Elena B. did say few nasty things about Anna, but that never looked like a rivalry ( as between Anna and Elena D. , so things could easily changed to get better ). Chance of Anna being in a team: 20%

But other than that, we need all-rounders, and that means that even though Tanya's rankings are as high as they've ever been, she is not with much of a chance to be in a team. Unless, I guess, she makes Top 15, then she will be difficult to ignore. Chance of Tanya being in a team: 20%.

Nadya is definitely getting back, but unless she has more or less long injury-free spell, I am not betting on her being in a team, because no coach would select a player as injury-prone as she is right now. But she is potenitally one of the best Russian players, the only good server among all players, and she is a very solid doubles player. So she has a chance. But she needs to rebuild her rankings first, a couple of more rounds at AO would do wonders to that. Chance of Nadya being in a team:30%

Lina also needs an injury-free spell, and she first needs to rebuild her rankings too, and she doesn't seem to be doing awfully well in that department. Chances of being in a team: 10%

Elena L. Very difficult to say. She was in a team for so long, and having a veteran, respected by everyone, in a team has never been a bad idea. But her form is yet difficult to judge. I think that she will come back as a Top 30 singles player at some point of the season. Chances of being in a team: 30%

Elena D. With her having the worst slump of her career, she is still quite highly ranked, a Top 5 doubles player, and a stalwart of national team for so many years. As long as she stays in Top 25 and is willing to play for Russia, she is virtually guaranteed to be selected, but she is no longer a certain starter. Chances of being in a team: 60%

Sveta: being an all-rounder could help her. Still, with our depth I doubt that Tarpishev would select a relatively low-ranked junior while having so much experience at his disposal. Chance of being selected: 10%

Vera: Being not an established doubles player, currently it would take an extraordinary good singles results for her to get selected. Quite unlikely: 5%

The rest: 15% in total..