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Tennis

Fed Cup: India to take on formidable Kazakhstan today

Fed Cup: India to take on formidable Kazakhstan today
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By

Dr. Balraj Shukla

Published: 8 Feb 2019 2:26 AM GMT

India, yesterday, defeated Thailand 2-1 in their Asia/Oceania Group I tie at the Fed Cup. Top ranked Indian Ankita Raina secured two victories which meant that India, despite a rough start and a loss, soon came back srongly to take the tie.

The match report is available here.

A general preview of the Indian Fed Cup team and past performances can be found here.

India takes on Kazakhstan later today.


Kazakhstan has faced India on six occasions previously at the Fed Cup. India leads the head to head record 4-2. They have met only once in indoor conditions which was back in 2013.

The tie was played at the same venue where India will play Kazakhstan this year. Kazakhstan won that tie six years ago, 3-0 in front of their home crowd. In their last meeting which took place at the R.K. Khanna Tennis Stadium in New Delhi, Kazakhstan got the better of India with a final score of 2-1.

Kazakhstan are a formidable opponent, especially on home conditions.

The nation's top two female tennis players, Yulia Putintseva and Zarina Diyas are placed well within the Top 100, the former of which is currently ranked No.43 in the world. Raina did defeat Putintseva last year at the Fed Cup but the Kazakh has grown much stronger since then. Thandi on the other hand lost to Diyas in her singles tie.

Notably, India has never won a tie after being 0-2 or 1-2 down. If India are to have any chance to defeat Kazakhstan than an early lead in the tie from Raina and Thandi looks mandatory.

Kazakhstan do have a sufficient number of experienced players on their side compared to the young Indian squad. While the average age of Kazakh players is 26 years, the average age of an Indian player in the 2019 Fed Cup side is 22.

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