Queenslander Sam Stosur has rarely made two annual playing trips to her state of origin, and recent results would suggest one visit has been more than enough.
Fed Cup captain Alicia Molik advises Daria Gavrilova during an Australian Fed Cup practice session in Brisbane. Photo: Getty Images
But her recurring struggles on the Brisbane International's hardcourts are one thing, and Stosur is hoping this weekend's Fed Cup tie on purpose-built clay will be different.
The Australian No.1 is at her best on the surface that hosted her first grand slam final, in 2010 at Roland Garros, and she also enjoyed one of her finer representative moments in this year's first-round world group II defeat of Slovakia in Bratislava.
With Daria Gavrilova ruled ineligible, Stosur won both her singles points before teaming with Casey Dellacqua to clinch the live fifth doubles rubber in three sets.
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The 3-2 victory qualified Australia for the world group play-off against a US team missing the Williams sisters and Sloane Stephens, but boasting good depth and versatility, plus an in-form doubles pair that includes CoCo Vandeweghe, a Stosur singles nemesis.
US captain Mary Jo Fernandez was giving little away before Friday's draw, but 36th-ranked Vandeweghe would take in a 3-1 advantage over Australia's singles spearhead if selected.
"You have to look at the match-ups, the surface, physically how everybody's doing," Fernandez said.
"I mean, the good news from my team is everybody can play singles and everybody can play doubles. So there's a lot of options. So we just have to see on the day who's playing the best, what the records head to head are, and go from there."
Alicia Molik's Australian line-up appears more certain, with Russian-born Gavrilova ��� the best-performing local woman at this year's Australian Open, with a breakout fourth-round appearance ��� set to make her debut in Saturday's singles, and Stosur again likely to play three rubbers if required.
The US, history's most successful Fed Cup nation, has won six of the past seven ties and eight of 13 overall against Australia, whose seven titles place them third behind the Czech Republic.
"It's nice to be able to come back and play here a second time in the year ��� it doesn't happen very often and yeah, very different being on a claycourt now too," said Stosur, the Gold Coast native now based in Sydney when in Australia and in Florida when not.
"So it's just a quick trip home, but hopefully it's going to be a good one."
Stosur has not won more than two consecutive singles matches in a season that started ��� surprise ��� with a first-round exit on Pat Rafter Arena, but, like new teammate Gavrilova, she reached the last 16 last week on green clay in Charleston, where Bethanie Mattek-Sands ��� the lowest-ranked of the four Americans in singles but the world No.3 in doubles ��� reached the final.
"Regardless of whether Serena and Venus are here, they've still got a very strong side and all their players are ranked, I think, in the top 60 anyway, and ��� they've got a quality doubles team as well," said Stosur, who owns a 36-15 Fed Cup record from 28 ties since 2003.
"On paper, it's still a tough team and I think we're pretty evenly matched actually, so I'm sure it's going to be a really close weekend."