Issue link: http://itf.uberflip.com/i/1227840
22 Spring 2020 ITF World Romania 2-3 Russia USA 3-2 Latvia Budapest February's Fed Cup Qualifiers, to which Haggerty alludes, encapsulated the traditional home-and-away values of the competition and were entertaining and enthralling in equal measure as Belarus, Belgium, Germany, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland and USA advanced. Belarus appeared to be down and out on numerous occasions against Netherlands in The Hague but refused to be beaten and reached the Finals courtesy of a suitably thrilling doubles victory for Aryna Sabalenka and Aliaksandra Sasnovich. Belgium, meanwhile, ensured they will form part of the final 12 with a 3-1 victory Blinkova and Anna Kalinskaya over Jaqueline Adina Cristian, who had produced heroics to level the tie at 2-2, and Elena- Gabriela Ruse. Slovakia joined this year's elite by overpowering Great Britain in Bratislava as Anna Karolina Schmiedlova fired her nation into an unassailable 3-1 lead with a singles triumph over Harriet Dart. Fittingly, in her final Fed Cup appearance on home soil, Carla Suarez Navarro put the seal on Spain's 3-1 rout of Japan, who had two-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka within their ranks, in Cartagena as she outclassed Kurumi Nara. Jil Teichmann guaranteed Switzerland's progression, on the day their captain Heinz Guenthardt celebrated his 61st birthday, by nullifying Canada's Gabriela Dabrowski. over Kazakhstan in Kortrijk. The teams split the opening two singles matches before Elise Mertens overcame Yulia Putintseva and Kirsten Flipkens secured the winning point by beating Zarina Diyas. It was a comfortable passage for two-time champions Germany, who dispatched Brazil 4-0 in Florianopolis as Laura Siegemund posted two singles victories – the second confirming a commanding triumph. There was no such ease for Russia, whose tie against Romania in Cluj-Napoca went the distance. It was settled by a doubles triumph for Anna Canadian teenager Leylah Annie Fernandez had dragged her nation back into contention by shocking world No. 5 Belinda Bencic, although Teichmann's win handed the Swiss a 3-1 victory. USA were the last nation to qualify for the Finals as Bethanie Mattek-Sands and recently-crowned Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin joined forces in the doubles to see off a resurgent Latvia and Jelena Ostapenko and Anastasija Sevastova in particular. After surging into a 2-0 lead, USA were pegged back as Ostapenko and Sevastova hauled Latvia level – the latter ending Serena Williams's 14-match unbeaten Fed Cup singles streak in the process. However, Mattek-Sands and Kenin had the final word. n ROAD TO Belgium 3-1 Kazakhstan Spain 3-1 Japan