Meet the Red Cup girls! Laura and Heather dazzle Israel ahead of return to Fed action
By MIKE DAWES
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Judy Murray's team, including British Nos 1 and 2 Heather Watson and Laura Robson, looked stunning as they posed ahead of their official team dinner in Eilat on Tuesday night, and Murray tweeted: 'Ladies In Red. GB best looking team in Eilat. No question.' We couldn't agree more.
The team start their campaign with a Europe/Africa Pool B fixture against Bosnia-Herzegovina before clashes with Portugal and Hungary. But they looked determined to enjoy a glamorous night before getting down to the real competition.
Ladies in red: Robson (left) posted this picture of herself and Watson on Instagram with a message reading: 'Heather and I are ready for the team Fed Cup dinner. #Boom
The only disappointment for the British team this week is that they have missed out on the excitement of seeing David Beckham training at their National Training Centre headquarters in Roehampton.
While the likes of Robson and Watson have been preparing for this week's group matches, Beckham has been a regular visitor to the LTA's base in South West London, using its state-of-the-art gym facilities as he prepares for his move to Paris Saint-Germain.
With LTA staff used to having the likes of Beckham's management stablemate Andy Murray in their midst the footballer has been allowed to quietly go about his business in the absence of the country's top female players.
Under the captaincy of Judy Murray they are all in the resort of Eilat, where in the next four days they will try and launch Britain back into the elite World Group of the women's equivalent to the Davis Cup for the first time in twenty years.
The only way is up: Both Robson and Watson have broken into the world's top 50
Having a ball: The Great Britain team posed for photos before their official dinner on Tuesday night
With Watson up to 41 in the world and Robson just behind her at 45 Murray believes that at long last GB, who face Bosnia in their opening round-robin match today, have a chance of making an impact in the competition after so long in its basement division.
'Laura and Heather have had a very exciting twelve months and I think we are ready to challenge,' she said. 'I think we are in a very strong position in that we have three young players who are very much on the up, while in Elena (Baltacha) and Anne (Keothavong) give us a super blend of youth and experience. It's a great opportunity for us to move forward.
Confident: Judy Murray thinks her Fed Cup team is ready to perform
Improving: Laura Robson made it all the way to the third round at the Australian Open, before losing to Sloane Stephens
'We've also got four players who can play doubles pretty well, and that is often the tiebreaker in this competition. Doing well in the game's biggest team event could be a very good platform for getting more girls and women to play tennis.'
The third young player is Australian-born Johanna Konta while Baltacha has been taken along as a non-playing supporter. The former British number one has not played since the Olympics but is on her way back from ankle surgery and is now back on court with the intention of returning to the circuit in April.
Moving up: The last year has been fantastic for Heather Watson, and she reached a career high ranking of 40 last month
Britain have been drawn in a group with Bosnia, Portugal and Hungary, and will be favourites to make it to Saturday's promotion playoff, which is the gateway to a further playoff in April - the same stage they reached twelve months ago - that could see a return to the World Group.
The team have been amusing themselves in the evenings with board games and Charades as part of Murray's effort to bring together players more used to competing against each other.
Strong team: Robson and Watson will be joined by Anne Keothavong, Johanna Konta and Elena Baltacha
'We've been playing Pictionary and you should see what a talented artist Heather is,' said Murray.
'We have got a great team atmosphere and have made that bond again. That was a big part of our success in the group stages last year.'
Hoping to improve: Last year the team made it to the World Group II play-offs, where they lost to Sweden
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/tennis/article-2273932/Laura-Robson-Instagram-picture-Heather-Watson.html#ixzz2KGZHkT3e
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