Serena officially in US team for Fed Cup final

Serena Williams was officially included on the United States team to face Italy in the Fed Cup final next week - but her sister Venus will not play.

Serena Williams was officially included on the United States team to face Italy in the Fed Cup final next week - but her sister Venus will not play.

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Serena was named along with US Open quarterfinalist Melanie Oudin, Liezel Huber and Alexa Glatch for the best-of-five tie on November 7-8 on outdoor clay in Reggio Calabria.

The International Tennis Federation confirmed the team yesterday.

The Williams sisters are playing in this week's Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha, the last WTA Tour event of the year for the world's top eight players.

Venus, who lost a three-setter to Serena on Wednesday, said she was too tired to play the final but expected the team to do well without her.

"I'm just unable to play more tennis after this," Venus said. "The team got to the finals without me. So they can definitely win without me."

Serena leads active women with 11 Grand Slam singles titles and is 4-0 in Fed Cup singles over her career. She wasn't fretting the team's chances without Venus.

"Melanie Oudin is a great player, as well as Alexa Glatch," she said. "We have a great team."