The Marsa Sports Club is set to host the biggest tennis event ever in Malta next week with the organisation of two Fed Cup tournaments for the Euro/Africa zone Groups Two and Three.

Nineteen teams will be vying for promotion in a week of tennis bonanza that gets underway on Monday and comes to a close on Saturday, May 1.

The Malta team, composed of Lisa Camenzuli, Sarah Wetz, Esther Muscat and Rosanne Dimech, will be playing in one of the two Group Three pools. Our opponents could be Algeria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, Norway and Tunisia.

Camenzuli, currently struggling with a foot injury, is rated as doubtful. However, she remains confident that she will recover in time for the tournament.

"I'm not 100 per cent fit at the moment," she said. "The medical team is giving me the necessary treatment and I'm still part of the group. Hopefully, I will make it in time for our first match."

For the past three months, the team has been preparing under the charge of national coach Dusan Janicijevic. However, the Yugoslav is ineligible to act as captain next week and the MTF has selected Helen Asciak as replacement.

"The girls have been doing intensive training for this tournament," MTF president Tony Cilia Pisani said.

"According to ITF rules Janicijevic cannot be our Fed Cup captain because he does not hold a Maltese passport. We have offered this role to Helen Asciak. No doubt, she has great experience which is essential for our players at this stage."

Group Two is composed of Egypt, Finland, Georgia, Great Britain, Ireland, Latvia, Luxembourg, Morocco, Portugal, Romania and Turkey.

MTF general secretary David Farrugia Sacco is tournament director. Eight foreign chair umpires, along with local officials, will control the matches.

The draws will be made on Sunday during a meeting for captains. Teams will be drawn in two round-robin pools to be played on the opening five days. Promotion slots will be contested on the last day of the tournament.

"We are really looking forward to host this event which has been entrusted to us by the ITF following the sterling work of former president Peter Zammit," Cilia Pisani said.

"This will be the biggest tennis event ever here with so many talented players on our courts. Certainly, this is a good opportunity which should attract more youngsters to our sport."

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