Fernandez, Marino to kick off play against Serbia at Billie Jean King Cup on Friday

The official draw for the Billie Jean King Cup by BNP Paribas Play-Off between Canada and Serbia was held on Thursday to determine the match-ups for this weekend’s action (April 16 and 17).

Today’s draw produced the following weekend match-ups:

Friday, April 16 (starting at 8 a.m. ET):

• Match 1 (singles): Leylah Annie Fernandez vs. Olga Danilovic
• Match 2 (singles): Rebecca Marino vs. Nina Stojanovic

Saturday, April 17 (starting at 5 a.m. ET):

• Match 1 (singles): Leylah Annie Fernandez vs. Nina Stojanovic
• Match 2 (singles): Rebecca Marino vs. Olga Danilovic
• Match 3 (doubles): Sharon Fichman/Carol Zhao vs. Olga Danilovic/Aleksandra Krunic

At stake this weekend: the winning nation advances to next year’s Qualifiers that will determine which 12 countries will participate in the prestigious Billie Jean King Cup Finals.

what they said after the draw

captain Heidi El Tabakh

“While we know this tie represents a difficult task for our team, we are ready. Our preparation this week has been second to none and all four of our players have been performing very well in practice. Serbia will be a tough opponent, but we have been working hard all week and know we have what it takes to get the win. We’re very much looking forward to representing Canada on court in this tie.”

Rebecca Marino

“It’s great that we have so many players with different experiences in their lives because it means that as a team, we can help each other with whatever we are going through. What is great about our group is that we are so passionate, we love tennis, and we love competing for Canada. While we have different stories, we all come together, and we make this great united front and it’s amazing.”

Leylah Annie Fernandez 

“It’s a good draw. The Serbian team is a tough one, but I’m confident in myself and in my team to do what we can to get the win. We are going to miss the fans and the atmosphere, but tomorrow is just like any other match: we are going to work hard and we are going to take it seriously. I’m going to do what I can to get the win.”

“I have great teammates with me at the moment, Rebecca, Carol and Sharon. They are all very supportive, great players too. They teach me something every day and I try to use that as much as I can during the week and for future tournaments.”

where and when to watch the matches?

The first singles match starts at 8:00 a.m. ET on Friday, April 16 and will be followed by the second singles rubber. The last two singles matches will get underway at 5:00 a.m. ET on Saturday, April 17, and will be followed by the doubles match. All the matches are best of three sets.

All matches from the tie will be broadcast live in Canada Sportsnet One (English) and TVA Sports (French).