Seles, Davenport named as Fed Cup team players

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Monica Seles, Lindsay Davenport, Meghann Shaughnessy and Lisa Raymond will play on the U.S. team facing Israel in the 2002 Fed Cup World Group playoff July 20-21 at the Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield.|ret||ret||tab|

Seles, currently ranked No. 4 in the WTA Tour singles rankings, is a nine-time Grand Slam singles champion. She will be joined on the U.S. Fed Cup team by Davenport, currently ranked No. 6 in singles and the winner of 37 career singles titles, including three Grand Slam titles and the 1996 Olympic gold medal. Raymond, who has been the No. 1 doubles player in the world for 43 consecutive weeks, has won 33 career doubles titles, including three Grand Slam titles. Shaughnessy, who made her Fed Cup debut earlier this year against Austria, is currently ranked No. 15 in the WTA Tour singles rankings. |ret||ret||tab|

The U.S. Fed Cup team will face the Israelis in a best-of-five match series. Two singles matches will be played on July 20 and two singles and a doubles match on July 21. |ret||ret||tab|

"This is a crucial match for the United States to qualify for the 2003 Fed Cup World Group," said coach Billie Jean King. "We have assembled a very talented group of Americans to compete against Israel in Springfield."|ret||ret||tab|

Tickets for the event can be purchased by calling 1-888-334-8782. Tickets are sold in two-day packages and range in price from $70 to $180. |ret||ret||tab|

The United States has won 17 Fed Cup championships more than any other nation since the inception of the competition in 1963. The winner of the United States-Israel playoff will qualify for the 2003 Fed Cup World Group.|ret||ret||tab|

Seles, 28, from Sarasota, Fla., has played on the Fed Cup team each year since 1996, and was a member of three championship teams (2000, 1999 and 1996). Her current No. 4 ranking is the highest in a year. Seles has won 53 career singles titles.|ret||ret||tab|

Davenport, 26, from Laguna Beach, Calif., has not played on the tour this year because of a knee injury. The No. 1 singles player in the world in the 2001 season-ending WTA Tour rankings, Davenport won seven 2001 WTA Tour singles titles and two doubles titles.|ret||ret||tab|

Raymond, 28, from Wayne, Pa., has won one singles title and six doubles titles this year. She was a member of the U.S. Fed Cup team in 2000, 1998 and 1997.|ret||ret||tab|

Shaughnessy, 23, from Scottsdale, Ariz., is the holder of two WTA Tour singles titles and three doubles titles.|ret||ret||tab|

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