Australia roll dice for France final

Australia gamble on Tomljanovic to play singles instead of Stosur Ashleigh Barty will plays econd singles rubber against Caroline Garcia

Perth, Nov. 8: Captain Alicia Molik on Friday gambled with Ajla Tomljanovic instead of Samantha Stosur to play singles for Australia in the Fed Cup final, with the debutant opening the tie against France’s top player Kristina Mladenovic. World number one and French Open champion Ashleigh Barty plays the second singles rubber on Saturday on the hardcourts of Perth Arena against Caroline Garcia in what are expected to be stifling hot conditions. Those four players are scheduled to be part of the reverse singles on Sunday, although that can change, before a potentially decisive doubles clash, where the massively experienced Stosur is set to partner Barty against Garcia and Mladenovic. It means Australian young guns Astra Sharma and Priscilla Hon will cheer from the sidelines, along with France’s Alize Cornet, Fiona Ferro and Pauline Parmentier. Picking Tomljanovic was a bold move by Molik as hosts Australia bid for a first title in 45 years, with experienced Stosur her country’s most successful ever singles player, spanning 16 years of Fed Cup action.

But she has been struggling over recent times, in contrast to Croatian-born Tomljanovic, who only recently became eligible for Australia, who has had a good year and spent most of it inside the world’s top 50.

“It is exceptionally tough to decide your two singles players for day one. For us it was a matter of matchups and I feel like we are going in with our strongest two players for Saturday,” said Molik.

France captain Julien Benneteau has kept faith with the team who sealed their semi-final win over Romania, with Mladenovic, ranked 40, and 45th-ranked Garcia shouldering the burden again in Perth.

“I have five very good players who are ready to go, but for me and my staff the best options are Caroline and Kristina,” he said.