Fed Cup : Australia Has Edge Over Germany

*Casey

 AUSTRALIA are claiming the psychological edge over their higher-ranked German opponents ahead of the Fed Cup semi-final starting in BrisbaneSaturday.
Samantha Stosur led Australia to a 3-2 victory in Stuttgart in 2012 against the same Germany team contesting this tie.
Back then Stosur was the reigning US Open champion ranked No. 5 in the world and she won both her singles rubbers against Angelique Kerber and Andrea Petkovic in straight sets.
It was the Queenslander’s only meeting with Petkovic, whom she will face again in the opening rubber on Saturday.
Since then, Kerber has climbed to No. 7 in the world while Stosur has slipped to 19th and Petkovic, making her return from injury, won the Charleston title earlier this month.
Australia’s Casey Dellacqua has also enjoyed a career resurgence, however, lifting her ranking to No. 53 on the back of an outstanding run to the fourth round of the Australian Open.
She and Ashleigh Barty have formed a formidable doubles combination, reaching three grand slam finals last year.
Australian captain Alicia Molik believes she has the team to beat Germany.
“The last time the time Australia played Germany, it will be very clear in the Germans’ minds that Sam had the edge, so I think as an opponent it’s always difficult going into a match knowing that you lost the last encounter,” Molik said.
“I’m hoping that they remember those matches very clearly.
“In singles, in relation to Casey, if you look at matches won over the last four or five months, I think Casey would almost be leading the charge out of both teams with the amount of matches that she’s been able to put together.

*Germany

“We’ve got the team to win, no doubt about that.”  
Stosur agreed the Australians could hold a mental advantage, having beaten the German team two years ago.
“It definitely can help a little bit,” she said.
“It was different circumstances. We were in Germany on a clay court, now we’re in Australia on a hard court so I’m sure they want to get their revenge away from home this time around.
“It’s nice to know that we were able to do that and we played a great tie that time and we’re definitely going to try and replicate that again.”
Petkovic said ranking meant little in the team competition.
“It’s going to be a huge thing for us competing in the semi-finals for the first time, for me at least,” Petkovic said.