Ready to move up to the next level?

Philippine women's number one Marinel Rudas is hoping that the third time’s the charm when she leads the three-member national Fed Cup team to their Asia/Oceania Group II match on February 4 to 10 in Astana, Kazakhstan

Rudas, who is currently playing for undefeated De La Salle University in the ongoing University Athletic Association of the Philippines women's lawn tennis tournament, said they are hoping to duplicate their feat of clinching a spot in the main draw where they finished third last year.

"We are training hard for the Fed Cup. Sure, we played in various tournaments but cohesiveness won’t be a problem since we’ve been together for the last three years and we know each other's strengths and areas to improve on," said Rudas, who will be joined by Marian Jade Capadocia and Anna Clarice Patrimonio in the team.

Rudas has fully recovered from her injured knee where she failed to practice for one month but focused on strength and conditioning under the guidance of coach Manny Tecson.

She said that Indonesia and Hong Kong, which played in the 2011 finals where the latter was promoted to Asia/Oceania Group I, are still the teams to beat.

"We made sure that we are ready and fit to compete in the Fed Cup. We are hoping to get a better draw in the Group Stages for us to make it into the playoffs. Coach Karl (Sta. Maria) has helped us a lot," added Rudas.

Sta. Maria, the National University men's tennis team head coach, is the mentor and non-playing team captain of the Philippines Fed Cup squad.

Capadocia has recently returned after seeing action in the International Tennis Federation junior tournament while Patrimonio competed in the Australian Open amateur tournament.

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