The Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis, Missouri will host a Fed Cup World Group Play-off tie this weekend between Team USA and a talented French squad.  After falling to Italy in the first round of World Group action this year, the Americans must defeat France to earn the chance to compete in Fed Cup's highest level next year.  A loss would relegate Team USA to World Group II in 2015, where they would attempt to earn promotion to World Group I for the 2016 season.

Far from easy is the task that looms before Sloane Stephens and Madison Keys in St. Louis.  France, which defeated Switzerland in World Group II, will field two fast-rising women in Alize Cornet and Caroline Garcia.  Last week, Cornet won her first hard-court title in Katowice, a WTA tournament with a similar surface to the St. Louis arena.  Garcia won her first career title on the same day, upsetting top-eight opponent Jelena Jankovic in Bogota.  While that tournament was held on outdoor red clay, Garcia reached her first hard-court semifinal in February at Acapulco.

In contrast, Stephens and Keys have produced uneven results this year.  Since reaching the second week of the Australian Open, Stephens has lost in the first round at four of her last six tournaments.  She did record a quarterfinal appearance at Indian Wells, however, where she defeated former No. 1 Ana Ivanovic.  The highest-ranked American woman after Serena Williams has struggled in limited Fed Cup action, falling to Sofia Arvidsson last year.  Stephens missed the February tie against Italy with an injury that may have contributed to her recent struggles.

Present at that tie in Cleveland was Keys, routed in her only match by Camila Giorgi.  That result also came on an indoor hard court and suggested that Keys might not be ready to shoulder the pressure of competing under her flag.  She will have learned from the experience, however, and will look to impose her heavy-hitting game on the counterpunching Cornet.  Like Stephens, Keys has struggled with consistency this year.  Defeating quality opponents like Simona Halep and Tsvetana Pironkova, she also has lost to unheralded figures such as Stefanie Voegele and Zhang Shuai.  

Stephens will open the tie against Garcia before Keys faces Cornet.  On Sunday, fellow No. 1s Stephens and Cornet will contest the third match, while Keys will meet Garcia in a battle of raw but promising No. 2s.  A doubles rubber will decide the tie if the teams split the four singles matches.  Both teams have nominated their reserves for that match but may change that decision if the doubles does decide the tie.

Substitutions are more likely for the Americans than for the French, who complement Cornet and Garcia with Virginie Razzano and Claire Feuerstein.  Team USA Captain Mary Joe Fernandez may be tempeted to replace either Stephens or Keys on Sunday with Christina McHale or Lauren Davis.  Both of those women have achieved notable feats this spring, McHale reaching her first career final in Acapulco and Davis upsetting Victoria Azarenka at Indian Wells.  On the other hand, neither possesses the first-strike power of Stephens or Keys, so they may offer less appealing options on an indoor hard court.