PRAGUE ― Petra Kvitova and Karolina Pliskova will lead the Czech Republic in the Fed Cup final in Prague against a United States team counting on a crop of unfamiliar names to defend the title.

US captain Kathy Rinaldi, without the services of Serena and Venus Williams and WTA Finals runner-up Sloane Stephens, calls on world number 35 Danielle Collins and 48th ranked Sofia Kenin and 15th-ranked doubles player Nicole Melichar ― each making her Fed Cup debut.

“I believe in the girls and I know they’re going to compete,” Rinaldi said.

“I’m really excited, I appreciate having the strongest team I could put together,” said captain Petr Pala, quoted by the CTK news agency.

The final pitting the two most successful nations in Fed Cup history ― the USA with 18 trophies and the Czech Republic with 10 including five as the former Czechoslovakia ― will be played on the hardcourt of the sold-out 15,000-capacity O2 Arena.

The United states beat Belarus in Minsk last year after seeing off the Czechs in the semi-final.

Led by Kvitova and Pliskova, the Czechs have won five of the last seven editions including all three finals they have played on Prague’s hardcourt.

“We are good at the finals, we are not so good against the Americans. We have never lost in the O2 Arena, but we have never beaten the Americans (in the final),” Pala said.

In this year’s semi-finals, the Czechs beat Germany in Stuttgart while the United States edged France in Aix-en-Provence. ― AFP