By Erik Gudris / Thursday, December 5, 2013

For the U.S. Davis Cup and Fed Cup teams, a change in surface and having all their players available will be the key for each winning their opening round ties in February, according to their respective captains.

Both Jim Courier and Mary Joe Fernandez took part in a conference call Thursday to promote each of their upcoming ties, both taking place in the U.S. just after the end of next year's Australian Open. The Davis Cup team will take on Great Britain in San Diego while the Fed Cup squad faces off against defending champions Italy in Cleveland, Ohio.

While no official team announcements were made, both captains confirmed that as of now all their players have made themselves available.

That's a plus for Fernandez, who hopes to have Serena Williams on the roster when they take on Italy for the fourth time in the last six years. But though having Williams would be huge, Fernandez admits Italy will again field a deep team including Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci.

"I'm excited. As I said all the top players have made themselves available," Fernandez said. "Having Serena would be a huge bonus. We've never played against Italy with Serena on the team. They've been our big nemesis; they've won Fed Cup four out of the last eight years I believe. They have a lot of depth. They have great singles players. They have the No. 1 doubles team in the world. They figure things out. We came close last year. It was the first time we were in a position to beat them away. So I'm hoping this will be the time. And again if Serena plays them it does make it that much more likely."

Along with Williams, Fernandez has a plethora of choices to round out her team for February. This includes young stars like Sloane Stephens, Jamie Hampton and Madison Keys along with veterans Venus Williams and Varvara Lepchenko.

Fernandez, who currently lives in Cleveland, thinks the event will be a big success for her team and the city. "I've been living in Cleveland for 12 years now next year and it's my home now. When the opportunity came up to have Fed Cup here, of course I lobbied for it and I really think we are going to have a good turnout."

Will Clay Be The Key Against Murray?

For the U.S. Davis Cup team, the biggest question facing them will be if the gamble to host their tie on red clay in San Diego will pay off. Courier confirmed the choice to play on the dirt was a team decision, partly due to so many of them feeling more comfortable on the slower surface than American teams before them.

It looks highly likely that the team will be made up of the go-to players in John Isner, Sam Querrey and Bob and Mike Bryan for doubles. Despite Querrey keeping a low profile due to a late season abdominal injury, Courier is confident the No. 2 American will be fit and ready for the upcoming Australian swing.

The wildcard in the equation is Andy Murray, who is expected to play for Great Britain depending on how he feels post-Melbourne. But if Murray does show up, Courier expects a tough battle.

"If you look at their results versus our team's comfort zone, their results tend to come on the firm surfaces and our results come on firm and on the clay," Courier said about the tie being played on clay in the U.S. for the first time since 1992. "You have to assume Murray will be very, very difficult to play no matter what surface you play him on. We certainly will be underdogs against Murray no matter when we play him. But clay is the surface the guys wanted to play this tie on, so that's why we are doing it."

The U.S. versus Great Britain Davis Cup tie will be held Jan. 31 to Feb. 2 in San Diego. The Italy versus U.S. Fed Cup tie in Cleveland, Ohio, will be from Feb. 8-9. Tickets for both events go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. EST.