By Erin Bruehl, USTA.com

REGGIO CALABRIA, ITALY -- The U.S. entered its first two Fed Cup ties this year as the underdog, without any singles players competing ranked in the top 30 and a couple players ranked outside the top 100.

But the U.S. fought its way through both ties, against first Argentina and then the Czech Republic, clinching each series in the final doubles rubber, even when down a set and match point against the Czech team.

And now the U.S. enters its first Fed Cup final since 2003 against Italy in a familiar role as the team without the highest-ranked players but one with the most heart and fight that a team could have as it tries to bring home the crown for the first time since 2000.

U.S. Fed Cup Captain Mary Joe Fernandez leads a U.S. team comprised of world No. 1 doubles player Liezel Huber, US Open quarterfinalist Melanie Oudin, Fed Cup semifinal hero Alexa Glatch and Fed Cup veteran Vania King against the Italian team of Flavia Pennetta, Francesca Schiavone, Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci outdoors on red clay, Nov. 7-8, in Reggio Calabria.

The Italians are the hometown favorites and outdoor red clay is the U.S. team's least favorite surface. They also boast having the world No. 11 in Pennetta and world No. 16 Schiavone as their top two singles players.

Pennetta has been a stalwart on the Italian Fed Cup Team, playing at least one time every year since 2005. This year she went 2-0 in Italy’s quarterfinal win over France and 1-1 in Italy’s semifinal victory over Russia, defeating Anna Chakvetadze and falling to world No. 3 Svetlana Kuznetsova. For her career, Pennetta is 10-4 in Fed Cup singles play and 1-0 in doubles.

For the first time for the U.S., Oudin steps on the court as the team’s No. 1 singles player, having competed at No. 2 singles in the quarterfinal round against Argentina and she was on the team but did not compete against the Czech Republic.

Serena Williams was originally named to the team last week but was a late withdrawal, changing the dynamics of the tie as it opened up a roster spot for King and gave the No. 1 singles role to Oudin.

Oudin, 18, became a household name this year and skyrocketed up the rankings after reaching the fourth round of Wimbledon and the quarterfinals of the US Open, including defeating both Elena Dementieva and Maria Sharapova along the way. She is the third-highest ranked American woman in the world at No. 49, behind Serena and older sister Venus Williams.

The start to Oudin’s fantastic year really began in the Fed Cup quarterfinal against Argentina in February when with the U.S facing elimination, she rallied from a set down to defeat Betina Jozami and send the tie to the doubles rubber, where Huber and Julie Ditty pulled out the victory.

Oudin, known for her fight and determination, has never faced Pennetta in her young career and faced Schiavone only once, a straight sets loss in Indian Wells last year. However, the 18-year-old has come a long ways since then.

“Melanie is a very up person, she is always in a good mood and she fits in with any team. She is willing to work 110 percent every time and be ready to play,” Fernandez said. “You see it when she plays. It does not matter who she is playing against, what the score is; she comes to play. There is not that intimidation factor when she plays anyone and you just love that in any player but especially a young player and I really think it helps the rest of the team and it is contagious.”

Fernandez will evaluate how everyone does in practice this week before making a final decision on who will play in the other singles spot, which can also be switched up to an hour before the matches on both Saturday and Sunday.

“It depends on how the week goes in practice and how the players are playing and feeling,” she said.

Glatch, currently ranked No. 132, was the hero of the semifinal tie in the Czech Republic as the No. 2 singles player behind Bethanie Mattek-Sands. She easily won her first match against Iveta Benesova to level the tie at 1-1 and then with the U.S. facing elimination on the second day, needed to win to send the tie to the deciding doubles rubber. It was a challenge she answered with another straight sets victory, this time over Petra Kvitova.

“Alexa might play and she knows that. She really proved herself in Brno,” Fernandez added. “She had never beaten anyone in the top 30 before and she beat two people pretty handily. She showed she can really handle the situation and the pressure and it was amazing really how she composed herself and dealt with her matches.”

Glatch, 20, also owns a dominating 6-1, 6-1 victory over Pennetta in 2009, upsetting the Italian on clay in the first round of Roland Garros. She has never faced Schiavone.

As for the doubles rubber, right now anyone could play with Huber. Of the three singles players, King has had the most doubles success this year and teamed with Huber to win the doubles rubber in the U.S.’s 3-2 semifinal loss to Russia in Moscow last year.

King is currently ranked No. 79 in singles and No. 32 in doubles. She is 0-2 in her career against Pennetta, who defeated the American in the second round of Wimbledon this year, and has never faced Schiavone. This is the fourth straight year King has played on the U.S. Fed Cup Team with a combined record of 4-5, including 3-1 in doubles. In addition to playing doubles with Huber in the semifinals against Russia in 2008, King was also the team's No. 1 singles player for the tie.

Huber, 33, is the unquestionable leader and heart of the team, taking much pride in playing for her new country.

The intangibles she brings to the team are just as valuable as her outstanding play on the doubles court, where she has clinched both Fed Cup ties in 2009 for the U.S. Huber and Ditty sent the U.S. to the semifinals in Arizona and then Huber and Mattek-Sands rallied from a set down and down 5-2 and facing a match point in the second set to defeat Kveta Peschke and Benesova to put the U.S. in its first Fed Cup final since 2003.

Errani and Vinci may be the Italian doubles team when the draw is announced on Friday but if the tie is on the line Italian Captain Corrado Barazzutti could easily substitute in Pennetta and/or Schiavone. Vinci, however, is a career 13-0 in Fed Cup doubles and paired with Errani in doubles in both previous ties this year.

“She [Huber] is a team leader, she is a little bit older, she has a lot of experience so she senses when she can be a help with a player or help me with practice with another player,” Fernandez said. “She really has a good sense of who needs what and when. It is great to have her because of that. And her expertise on the doubles court is phenomenal.”

This will be the tenth career meeting between the U.S. and Italy in Fed Cup with the U.S. winning all previous nine ties. However, the two teams have not played since 2003, when the U.S. won at home in the quarterfinals on its way to the final, and they have played just twice since 1986.

The U.S. has been the most successful nation in Fed Cup history with 17 titles but Italy has been champion more recently, capturing the crown in 2006, and has advanced to the final now three times in four years.

Play begins on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. local time in Reggio Calabria with the two reverse singles matches and 11:00 a.m. on Sunday featuring two singles matches and concluding with the doubles match and a new Fed Cup champion.