Serena Williams passed over by U.S. for Fed Cup

LONDON — Australian Open quarterfinalist Serena Williams was left off the United States team that will play Argentina next month in the first round of the Fed Cup.

Williams, who will play Elena Dementieva on Thursday in Melbourne, was left off the nomination list Wednesday in favor of Bethanie Mattek, Jill Craybas, Melanie Oudin and Liezel Huber for the best-of-five series Feb. 7-8 on outdoor hard courts in Surprise, Ariz., the International Tennis Federation said.

The United States, which last won the Fed Cup in 2000, will take on Argentina's Gisela Dulko, Betina Jozami, Soledad Esperon and Aranza Salut.

Dementieva was the only one of three Russians who reached the Australian Open quarterfinals picked to play for the defending champions. She was chosen along with Svetlana Kuznetsova, Anna Chakvetadze and Alisa Kleybanova for the series against China on indoor hard courts in Moscow.

Dinara Safina and Vera Zvonareva are the other Russians still playing at the Australian Open, while highly ranked Maria Sharapova is injured.

Kuznetsova and Zvonareva teamed with Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina to sweep Spain 4-0 in last year's final.

China will counter with 2008 Wimbledon semifinalist Zheng Jie, Yan Zi, Zhang Shuai and Sun Tian-Tian.

Also in the World Group, France hosts Italy on outdoor hard courts in Orleans, and the Czech Republic hosts Spain on indoor carpet in Brno.

French veteran Amelie Mauresmo will lead her team along with 16th-ranked Alize Cornet, Nathalie Dechy and Severine Bremond against Italy's Francesca Schiavone, Flavia Pennetta, Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci.

Spain will be represented by Australian Open quarterfinalist Carla Suarez Navarro, Nuria Llagostera Vives, Maria-Jose Martinez Sanchez and Lourdes Dominguez-Lino in the Czech Republic against Iveta Benesova, Petra Kvitova, Lucie Safarova and Kveta Peschke.

In World Group II, top-ranked Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic will play for Serbia on hard indoor courts against Japan in Belgrade.

Also in second-tier competition, it's Slovakia against Belgium, Switzerland against Germany and Ukraine against Israel.