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THE TR NEWSLETTER: MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4, NO. 257

Harkleroad: US's Fed Cup hero

American cruise in rain-delayed triumph over Germany

By Richard Osborn, Special to TennisReporters.net

FROM THE FED CUP IN LA JOLLA, CALIF. – It was downright un-American. While the rest of the country was busy grinding avocados for guacamole, chilling their Bud Lights or breaking out the Nerf football for a pre-game backyard toss, Lindsay Davenport & Co. were stuck in a rain delay at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club, the outcome of their Fed Cup quarterfinal against Germany hanging in the balance.

Sandwiched between the Super Bowl and Super Tuesday, Zina Garrison's US team was playing without Venus or Serena Williams, yet came into the tie an overwhelming favorite against a relatively inexperienced German contingent. By Sunday, they had hoped to be putting the finishing touches on a lopsided victory in time to tune into the Giants-Patriots Super showdown. But their guests showed that they have, in German captain Barbara Rittner's words, "got some teeth" by deadlocking the match at 1-1. Then the rains set in.