Perth (Australia) (AFP)

Respected Logic: French N.1 and N.2, Kristina Mladenovic and Caroline Garcia, were selected by France captain Julien Benneteau for the first two singles of the Fed Cup final against Australia, Saturday in Perth, under a hot sun announced.

Mladenovic (40th) will be the first to enter the RAC Arena's blue court, opposite Australian No.2 Ajla Tomljanovic (51st), of Croatian origin but naturalized and made eligible less than a month before the final by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), from 11am local (4am in France).

Then Garcia (45th) will then challenge world No.1 Ashleigh Barty, Roland-Garros winner at the beginning of June, then the Masters at the end of the season less than a week ago. And which remains on a series of fourteen consecutive victories in Fed Cup, including six in 2019.

"It's the logic of the ranking, but it was not as simple as that, there was a lot of thinking, for Saturday it's the best option for us, we're going on it and we'll see afterwards first two simple ", justifies Benneteau.

According to the draw held on Friday morning, the Garcia-Mladenovic duo was also selected for the eventual double win, while Barty and Samantha Stosur were associated on the Australian side. But it does not bode the rest of the weekend: as for the last two singles of Sunday, the tricolor captain will be free to change his selection until the last moment or almost.

- Up to 40 degrees -

"I have many options on Saturday night: for the rest (of the weekend), I do what I want," he says.

Benneteau had applied the same strategy to start its top-ranked players on Saturday in the previous round, against Romania's former world No.1 Simona Halep. But the roles were then reversed between Garcia, French N.1 at the time, and Mladenovic, N.2. He then entrusted the fourth single to Pauline Parmentier (122).

"Winning the semifinal with a real collective against a team with a strong player, it showed us that we could do beautiful things," recalls Benneteau.

"There are not many nations that have so many players in the top 100, this is clearly our strength," adds Mladenovic.

Beyond their opponents, the Blue will have another formidable enemy to manage: the Australian lead sun. Up to 40 degrees are announced in Perth Saturday, and measures ranging from a ten-minute break before a possible third set to closing the roof are likely to be put in place.

"I love the heat," says Mladenovic, "I live in Dubai, I spend all my winters warm, and after 40 degrees it's something else, it's true. we're not used to it anymore since we're on the same tournaments all year round. "

- Complete the reunion season -

"It's not going to be easy, but it's something that is largely surmountable," says Garcia, "and it's been several days since we've been trying to prepare for it, stay hydrated, eat well. to have energy. "

The episode of scorching heat announces as brief as intense: the thermometer should fall by fifteen degrees Sunday.

A French success, the third after 1997 and 2003, would, from the first campaign of Benneteau in the role of captain, complete the season of reunion between Garcia and his teammates, Mladenovic in particular, after two years of quarrel. The Blue however remain on three defeats in the final, in 2004, 2005 and 2016.

Australia, the most decorated third nation with seven titles, is racing after its first Fed Cup trophy in 45 years (1974). Alicia Molik's players raised their country in the final for the first time in twenty-six years.

This final on the west coast of Australia is in any case the last before the Fed Cup, like the Davis Cup since this year, handing his home games or away and his three weekends of competition at year-round to focus on a weeklong final round of twelve teams in Budapest in the spring.

© 2019 AFP