Kazakhstan next up for Canada in Fed Cup

MONTREAL — Canada will host Kazakhstan in the next round of the Fed Cup women’s tennis competition.

The World Group II tie is set for April 22-23, the International Tennis Federation said Tuesday. The location, choice of surface, and team members will be announced at a later date.

Canada is coming off a victory at the Americas Zone Group I event last week in Metepec, Mexico.

“Our young team showed a lot of good things last week,” Canadian Fed Cup team captain Sylvain Bruneau said in a statement. “After a difficult year in 2016, we have the chance to look forward and prepare for our next challenge.

“We have the opportunity to play at home after two straight road ties and it’s up to us to take advantage of it.”

Last week, Bianca Vanessa Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont., Charlotte Robillard-Millette of Blainville, Que., Toronto’s Katherine Sebov, and Carol Zhao of Richmond Hill, Ont., went undefeated with victories over Venezuela, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Chile.

Kazakhstan also went undefeated in its Asia/Oceania Zone Group I event. Led by world No. 27 Yulia Putintseva, the Kazakh side beat Japan, Korea, and Thailand.

This will be the first meeting between 16th-ranked Canada and No. 23 Kazakhstan. The winner qualifies for World Group II in February 2018.

At No. 293, Andreescu was the highest-ranked Canadian to play in last week’s event.

There are three Canadian players ahead of her in the latest rankings. They include Eugenie Bouchard of Westmount, Que., (No. 44), Montreal’s Francoise Abanda (No. 171) and Aleksandra Wozniak of Blainville, Que., (No. 269).