Lindsay Davenport returned to Fed Cup play and and lost her first ever Fed Cup match on U.S. soil.

Next week is Davis Cup week for the men and this week is Federation Cup week for the women. It’s early in the Fed Cup cycle so we weren’t looking for any titanic battles, most of the ties looked foreordained.

For instance, the U.S. started its tie with Germany by throwing Lindsay Davenport against Sabine Lisicki. I had never heard of Lisicki. Part of that is on me – she made it to the third round at the Australian Open as a qualifier – but she’s hardly a household name. Now I definitely know her name. She beat Lindsay rather easily, 6-1, 7-5, to put Germany up 1-0.

Lindsay is still making her way back onto the tour after having a baby last year and I hadn’t see her play till she met up with Maria Sharapova in Melbourne. Lindsay looked flat-footed and slow as Sharapova hit her off the court but how could I judge Lindsay’s prospects from that encounter? Sharapova pushed everyone off the court in Melbourne.

Lindsay was 13-1 last year and she’s 6-1 this year but Lisicki pushed her off the court too. Lisicki hit behind her, in front of her, and went for more than the average number of drop shots. Lindsay might have had trouble warming up in the first set because it was cold at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club in balmy San Diego. Coulda been the ocean breeze I suppose.

But after Lisicki gave away a break of serve with four double faults in the second set, Lindsay couldn’t close out the set. Facing break point at 5-3, Lindsay couldn’t run down a shot to the corner. She had a set point against Lisicki in the next game but stood there flat footed as yet another shot landed in the corner.

Lisicki pulled that game out with an ace and a beautiful inside out forehand that dropped over the net short and curled out of the court. She’s a gutsy player – she won this match despite eleven double faults and 33 errors – but I’m not feeling all that positive about Lindsay’s future at the moment. If the 130th ranked player can move Lindsay around at will, surely many other players can do the same thing.

If you were wondering if Lindsay lost because she played poorly or Lisicki played so well, here was Lindsay’s answer to that question after the match:

I think it was probably a little of both. I mean, obviously disappointed with the way I went out there and played. But at the same time, she played very well and had a lot to do with that.

Lindsay also said something rather interesting about Lisicki’s breakthrough at the Australian Open:

I think the Australian Open was the first big tournament she played well at, and she’s young. It’s a lot easier to play so well when you’re young.

It’s easier to play well when your young. Now that is a backhanded complement. Either Lindsay is feeling old or she’s feeling a bit sorry for herself. She’s referring to the fact that Lisicki had no pressure on her because she wasn’t expected to win the match but Lisicki was also playing a three time slam champion who is now the all time money leader of the women’s tour and she won the match in straight sets.

Fed Cup rookie Ashley Harkleroad saved Lindsay’s butt with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Tatiana Malek in the second match to even the tie at 1-1. Lindsay and Ashley will play reverse singles tomorrow and Lindsay will play the doubles match with Lisa Raymond.

Did you see the huge pink, bejeweled ring on U.S. Fed Cup captain Zina Garrison’s middle finger by the way? Wow, that is something to behold. Lindsay doesn’t have the company of the Williams sisters to help her this week. I did have a quick thought that it might be a silent protest to the end of Zina Garrison’s tenure as Fed Cup captain. Mary Joe Fernandez is a Fed Cup coach this year and will take over for Garrison next year.

There’s a bit on intrigue in the Fed Cup tie between Russia and Israel too. Sharapova is playing in her first Fed Cup match so that she can qualify for the Olympics. Missing, though, are Svetlana Kuznetsova and Nadia Petrova. There is speculation that they didn’t want to play on a team with Sharapova. They’re probably not happy that they are the players who did all the heavy lifting that led to a Fed Cup championship and here comes Sharapova to make a cameo appearance just so that she can win a gold medal.

Russian player Dinara Safina did turn up but she lost to Israel’s Shahar Peer. Things might sort themselves out. The U.S. could well win the its tie and Russia is likely to beat Israel. Still, it’s not the foregone conclusion we thought it might be.