Serena Williams to lead US in Fed Cup Serena Williams will lead the United States in their Fed Cup World Group-II tie against Victoria Azarenka-led Belarus in Massachusets this weekend, with elder sister Venus scheduled to play only doubles. In the draw made Friday, US captain Mary Joe Fernandez inserted 38th-ranked Christina McHale as her No. 2 singles player. McHale will have the daunting task of opening the best-of-five match tie against Azarenka, whose Australian Open triumph saw her rise to No. 1 in the world. "Christina is very match-fit," Fernandez said. She had a great Australian Open and is very prepared and ready to go. Venus has had a great week of practice as well, but I think Christina has been playing a lot more. Azarenka said she wouldn't take McHale lightly. "I think she?s a very good player," said Azarenka, who thrashed Maria Sharapova 6-3, 6-0 in the Australian Open final to claim her first Grand Slam title. She has a lot of motivation playing in front of the home crowd. She?s had some good results, played some good matches against top players and had a few big wins, so she?s a dangerous opponent. Venus Williams is a seven-time Grand Slam champion, but hasn't played since pulling out of the US Open, when she announced she had been diagnosed with the auto-immune disorder Sjogren Syndrome. Serena Williams will play the second singles match on Saturday against 97th-ranked Olga Govortsova. Serena and Azarenka will then clash in the reverse singles. The winners of the World Group-II tie will advance to the World Group Playoff and play for a chance to reach the elite group and compete for the Fed Cup title in 2013. The United States has been a record 17-time Fed Cup champion and is playing in the World Group-II for the first time. Belarus is trying to get beyond the World Group-II for the first time.