Melbourne, 21 January 2012 | tennis.com.au

Samantha Stosur (5), Jarmila Gajdosova (39), Jelena Dokic (64) and Casey Dellacqua (126) will represent Australia at the Fed Cup by BNP Paribas World Group II tie against Switzerland on Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 February 2012.

Australian Fed Cup Captain, David Taylor said he was looking forward to 2012 and a successful Fed Cup year.

“Switzerland is a team our Fed Cup girls know very well,” Taylor said.

“It will be the fourth time we have played since 2001 and we have been fortunate to win three of the most recent ties against the Swiss and I know the girls are very motivated to keep that streak alive.

“Going from an Australian summer, where the girls have played on hard courts, to a slow indoor claycourt, in the Swiss Alps, is quite a contrast but I am confident they will make the adjustment.

“Sam and Jarka have had very challenging summers but I know they are extremely motivated to get back on track in Switzerland.

“Nicole Bradtke [the Fed Cup Coach] and I are also really excited to welcome back Casey and Jelena into the team.

“Casey has played a significant amount of matches on the Australian Pro Tennis Tour and has stepped up with a few wins at WTA tour level recently.

“Jelena also has been able to post some wins recently in Sydney and Melbourne and I’m sure 2012 will see them both climbing back toward the top 50.

“They both deserve the opportunity to represent their country again.”

The tie is being hosted in Fribourg, Switzerland and this is the fifth time the two teams have met.

Australia leads 4-1 in the head-to-heads winning first in 1966 and then three times in the 2000’s. The sole triumph for the Swiss nation was in 1983 in Zurich.

Australia was relegated in 2011 after a shock 3-2 loss to Ukraine in the World Group play-offs in Melbourne. The Australian team hasn’t lost a tie away since 2008.

Switzerland was promoted from the Europe/Africa Zone Group I last year. The Swiss came through the week-long event in Israel before defeating Sweden 4-1 in the World Group II play-offs. That tie was also significant as it marked the final Fed Cup appearance for Swiss stalwart Patty Schnyder.

Both teams will be fighting to return to the World Group in 2013 with wins required in February and in April to return to the top eight next year.