Serbia will face Spain tomorrow as part of World Group II in the Fed Cup. The tie will be held on the indoor hard courts at the Kraljevo Sports Centre in Kraljevo, Serbia. Serbia leads Spain 2-0 in their head-to-head, winning in 1979 (as Yugoslavia) and 2009.
The Serbian Team
Captained by former player Tatjana Jecmenica, the Serbians are definitely the underdogs coming into this tie. Though they will have the home crowd behind them, they will be harmed by world number 20 and former French Open champion Ana Ivanovic opting to skip this weekend's tie.
That places a firm emphasis on former world number one Jelena Jankovic to deliver for her home side. The current world number 19 hasn't represented her country since they reached the final in 2012. However, with Olympic eligibility criteria determined on Fed Cup participation, the 30-year-old has made herself available.
Unlike her more celebrated compatriots, Bojana Jovanovski has consistently represented her nation. The 24-year-old has competed each year since 2010, but unfortunately hasn't won a match since 2012. She will certainly have to play above her current ranking of 87th if she is to stand a chance of ending her losing streak.
For the doubles rubber, the Serbs have fielded two very inexperienced teenagers, Ivana Jorovic and Nina Stojanovic. Jorovic is a former junior world number one and Stojanovic has played Fed Cup doubles twice before in 2014.
The Spanish Team
Captained by 1994 Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez, Spain are the favorites. Given that the country has won the Fed Cup on five previous occasions (1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998), the team has a lot of expectation placed on them.
World number five Garbine Muguruza will be expected to do the most damage for her team. Though the 22-year-old didn't play anywhere near her best in Australia, she won both her singles matches this time last year in her Fed Cup debut,. That included a victory over the likes of Simona Halep.
Since debuting in 2008, Carla Suarez Navarro has been a key component of the Spanish Fed Cup team. The 27-year-old represented Spain in the final that year and unlike her compatriot, played well recently in Australia. The world number eight reached the semifinals at Brisbane and then the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. She will hope to carry her good form into this tie.
For the doubles rubber, Spain will put 23-year-old Lara Arruabarrena with 34-year-old Lourdes Dominguez Lino. Arruabarrena made her Fed Cup debut last year, winning both of her singles matches whilst Dominguez Lino is a Fed Cup stalwart. She first debuted back in 2006.
This Weekend's Tie
Muguruza and Jovanovski will open the proceedings. Though they are tied at 1-1 in their head-to-head, they haven't played since 2012, so those meetings are irrelevant. Given Muguruza's bigger serve and ground strokes, she should be expected to dominate on an indoor hard court. Though Jovanovski's forehand and second serve are suspect, she does has terrific fighting spirit and will be the first to take advantage of a disinterested Muguruza showing.
Understandably, the pressure will be on Jelena Jankovic to secure a win against Carla Suarez Navarro. The question is whether Jankovic has the patience and form to hit through her opponent. She boasts a 5-2 head-to-head lead and beat the Spaniard 6-0, 6-0 the last time they played in Beijing 2013. Jankovic hasn not been playing well as of late though, going out in the second round of the Australian Open. Suarez Navarro has been playing consistently this year and could prove too solid for her demonstrative opponent, who will no doubt be at her dramatic best before her home crowd.
In the reverse singles, Muguruza will start out as the favorite to beat Jankovic given her 2-1 head-to-head advantage. Muguruza will be in charge once again, but will have to watch her unforced error count as Jankovic recovers ball after ball. If Spain are already up 2-0 by this point, Muguruza should feel comfortable handling the pressure to close out the tie. If the reverse proves to be true, the same assurity can't be placed on Jankovic, as she has proven all too brittle in the past.
Lastly, Suarez Navarro has beaten Jovanovski in their only previous meeting. Their match will no doubt feature long, exhausting rallies and many service breaks, given that neither player possesses a knock out punch. Given the late stage of this encounter in the tie, both players will be feeling the weight of expectation and will probably play nervously.
If required, the more experienced and steady Spanish doubles team should be expected to beat their green opposition.
Prediction: Spain beats Serbia 3-1