British Fed Cup stars determined to mimic Davis Cup heroes

Britain, with world No.2 Andy Murray leading the way, won the Davis Cup for the first time since 1936 back in November as they beat Belgium in the final.

The squad successfully went from the third tier of the competition to lifting the trophy in just five years. GB's women will now try to emulate that climb as they start their Euro/Africa Zone Group 1 campaign in a three-team group with South Africa and Georgia on Thursday.

The winners of the group go through to a play-off tie on Saturday, while victory in that clash would see Judy Murray's troops face another play-off in April with promotion to World Group Two at stake.

The Fed Cup team will be without British No.1 Johanna Konta because of illness but 24-year-old Rae, who is set to partner Anna Smith in the doubles, insists the group can draw on the men's Davis Cup success regardless.

"It was incredible and they all did so well. Not a lot of people maybe thought they could do it, but they did," said Rae. "Before we left, we saw the trophy. Even just seeing that was inspiring.

"The format of the group we are in is quite tricky to get out of, but we believe if we play well and put our best games on the court, we can do well.

"We are all training well and we are just excited to start playing. I love it – I have always liked being part of a team."

Sportsbeat 2016