Sloane Stephens to lead US in Fed Cup match against Italy, Williams sisters not included
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Sloane Stephens will lead the U.S. Fed Cup team that is without the Williams sisters for the World Group first-round match against Italy on Feb. 9-10.
U.S. captain Mary Joe Fernandez also included doubles specialist Liezel Huber and rookies Varvara Lepchenko and Jamie Hampton.
Stephens is ranked a career-high No. 17 after beating Serena Williams to reach the semifinals of the Australian Open. She is in line to make her Fed Cup singles debut against the Italians.
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Serena Williams, who hurt her back in the quarterfinal loss to Stephens, played in the most recent U.S. match in the Fed Cup — a 5-0 victory over Ukraine in a World Group playoff in April last year.
The match will be played on indoor red clay in Rimini, Italy. The Italian team is led by No. 7 Sara Errani and No. 16 Roberta Vinci.