On Tuesday, the Fed Cup announced the matchups for its playoff round, which pits teams that lost in the first round of World Group I against teams that advanced from World Group II.  The winners of these four ties will compete in World Group I for the Fed Cup crown next year.  By contrast, the losers will sink to World Group II and spend next year attempting to earn promotion into World Group I.  Much is at stake, then, for the losers cannot compete for the Fed Cup until at least 2016.

Here is a quick look at each of the four matchups will unfold on April 19-20, the same weekend as the Fed Cup semifinals.

Russia vs. Argentina:  Nobody can doubt that Russia is infinitely more accomplished in women's tennis than Argentina, at both individual and team levels.  Russian women have won seven major titles since 2004 and appeared in many additional major finals, while the Fed Cup team has won multiple titles and competed in World Group I every year of this century.  Moreover, they will hold home-field advantage against an unheralded Argentine team.  But none of this will matter if Russia's bevy of top-100 women continue to spurn the competition.  They lost to Australia resoundingly in the quarterfinals last weekend because they fielded a team of unknowns with minimal WTA experience.  And they'll likely lose to Argentina if the same or a similar group plays in April.

Canada vs. Slovakia:  This tie could be as interesting as the two Fed Cup semifinals in the same weekend.  Australian Open finalist Dominika Cibulkova can be expected to lead Slovakia into the lair of Australian Open semifinalist Eugenie Bouchard.  Those two women have produced two of the biggest headlines of early 2014, and the glow of their accomplishments Down Under probably still won't have faded in April.  Slovakia fell in disappointing fashion to Germany at home in the quarterfinals, but their players have more than enough experience to master the task of winning an away tie.  Canada overwhelmed a toothless Serbian team to reach this stage, but their depth behind Bouchard remains questionable.  

USA vs. France:  LIke Russia, the United States is a perennial Fed Cup contender unaccustomed to fighting for its World Group eligibility.  Also like Russia, its fortunes in April probably will depend on who plays.  When world No. 1 Serena Williams and American No. 2 Sloane Stephens withdrew from their quarterfinal tie, their relatively raw replacements could not handle the moment as well as one might have hoped.  If Serena plays in April, the United States should win comfortably.  if the same squad who lost to Italy squares off against France, anything could happen.  The visitors can field a versatile group of canny veterans like Virginie Razzano and young guns like Kristina Mladenovic.  French No. 1 Alize Cornet isn't the most trustworthy anchor, but she has started the year well.

Spain vs. Poland:  No prizes for guessing the surface of this tie in advance.  With the opportunity to host, Spain surely will lay down a slow outdoor clay court that will showcase their team at its best and Polish star Agnieszka Radwanska at her most vulnerable.  That said, Radwanska still is clearly superior to any of the Spaniards on any surface, which should leave the hosts with the task of winning all three of the matches that she doesn't play.  Poland's lack of depth makes that outcome plausible or even probable unless withdrawals decimate Spain.  In a way, this is unfortunate because it would be fascinating to see a player of Radwanska's talent compete for the Fed Cup at some stage in her career.