By Erin Bruehl, USTA.com

With the 2009 Fed Cup season beginning this week, the U.S. takes a team of Liezel Huber, Jill Craybas, Julie Ditty and Melanie Oudin to Surprise, Ariz. to take on Argentina in a quarterfinal matchup.

The two teams will meet outdoors on hardcourts at the Surprise Tennis and Racquet Complex with the U.S. hoping to begin its run to the 2009 Fed Cup title under new Captain Mary Joe Fernandez with its mix of newcomers and veterans.

The U.S. will face an Argentine team of world No. 44 Gisela Dulko, Betina Jozami, Soledad Esperon and Aranza Salut under Captain Ricardo Rivera.

Huber and Craybas lend their veteran presences to the squad that would appear to be the favorite to win the tie especially as the home team. Both Ditty and Oudin will be making their Fed Cup competitive debuts.

Huber is the world’s co-world No. 1 doubles player. Oudin is the youngster on the team at just age 17 but has quickly moved up the rankings to a current No. 151 after finishing 2007 at No. 373. Craybas, 34, is ranked No. 75 and is making her first U.S. Fed Cup Team appearance since 2006. Ditty was added to the team to replace the injured Bethanie Mattek, who was unable to play because of a hip injury that also forced her to withdraw from the 2009 Australian Open.

Ditty, 30, is making her U.S. Fed Cup Team debut and is currently ranked No. 105 in the world. She had a record-breaking season in 2008 when she became the all-time USTA Pro Circuit leader in titles when she won both the singles and doubles titles at the $75,000 event in Albuquerque, N.M. in September, and she then won her 33rd Pro Circuit title (nine singles) after winning doubles at the $50,000 event in Lawrenceville, Ga.

Huber made her U.S. Fed Cup debut against Moscow last year in the semifinals, winning the doubles rubber with Vania King, as the U.S. fell to Russia, 3-2. There is no better doubles player, as she is the co-ranked world No. 1 (with partner Cara Black) and winner of 34 career WTA Tour doubles titles. With Black, the pair was the No. 1 seed at the Australian Open and reached the quarterfinals.

She went on to play doubles on the U.S. Olympic Team with Lindsay Davenport in 2008, won the US Open title with Black, as well as the season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships.

Craybas is the team’s most experienced Fed Cup player, having competed in four previous ties with a 2-4 overall record, and she played in 2006, when the U.S. fell to Belgium in the semifinals and defeated Germany in the quarterfinals earlier in the year (where Craybas beat Julia Schruff in singles).

To start 2009, she competed in Auckland and Sydney and then fell in three sets in the first round of the Australian Open after finishing 2008 ranked inside the top 100 for the eighth straight year.

Oudin is one of the U.S.’s best young players and is now a professional, having turned pro after the 2008 US Open, where she made her Grand Slam main-draw debut and also reached the semifinals in the girls’ singles competition. Recently, she earned her second Grand Slam main-draw entry at the 2009 Australian Open, where she lost in the first round to Akgul Amanmuradova.

Last year was Oudin’s first competing in WTA Tour main draws, including reaching the quarterfinals in Quebec City. She also won her first professional title on the USTA Pro Circuit last July in Lexington, Ky.

For Argentina, Dulko, 24, is their lone player ranked inside the top 100 and is the team’s most accomplished player. She has three career WTA Tour singles titles and seven doubles titles and has been ranked as high as No. 26. Dulko had some injury problems to start 2008 but won the title in Fes and was a member of the Argentine Olympic Team. She also played Fed Cup in 2008, winning both her singles matches in Argentina's World Group Playoff win over Germany and is 16-10 overall in her Fed Cup career. Recently, she reached the second round of the Australian Open, falling to Serena Williams.

Jozami, just 19, is No. 134 and has not competed much on the WTA Tour, however, she won a few ITF Circuit singles and doubles events in 2008 and was a member of the 2008 Argentine Olympic Team. She also is 2-1 in her Fed Cup career, including going 1-1 in Argentina's 2008 World Group playoff win over Germany.

Esperon played mostly on the ITF Circuit in 2008, winning three singles titles. The 23-year-old is currently ranked No. 181 in the world in singles.

Salut is the Argentine team’s young up-and-comer, who is just 17. She is currently ranked No. 462 in the world and has won a few ITF Circuit titles in singles and doubles in her young, professional career. She also competed in juniors in 2008, including reaching the second round in girls’ singles at Roland Garros.

Overall, the U.S. and Argentina have played three times previously in Fed Cup, with the Americans holding a 2-1 advantage. However, the two countries are meeting for the first time since 2003, when Argentina defeated the U.S. in the 1993 quarterfinals.

The U.S. is the most successful nation in Fed Cup history, with 17 titles, but the last title came back in 2000 – something the 2009 team hopes to change.