Unheralded Canadians tapped for Fed Cup tie

Bianca Andreescu and Francoise Abanda will play Canada’s first two singles matches Saturday in its Fed Cup World Group II playoff tie with Kazakhstan. The draw for the event, to be held Saturday and Sunday at Uniprix Stadium in Montreal, was Friday. Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont., will face Yulia Putintseva in the opening singles match. Then, Abanda of Montreal takes on Yaroslava Shvedova. On Sunday, Abanda will meet Putintseva in singles before Andreescu plays Shvedova. Then Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski and Toronto’s Katherine Sebov will face Shvedova and Galina Voskoboeva in doubles. The winner secures a spot in World Group II for 2018.