U.S. Fed Cup Captain Zina Garrison traveled to Europe with an unproven line-up led by 31-year-old journeywoman Jill Craybas, whose career-high ranking of No. 39 currently makes her the third highest ranked American in the world behind Lindsay Davenport and Venus Williams.  Craybas, winless in her two previous Fed Cup appearances, was joined by three rookies: Jackson, Shenay Perry and Vania King, a 17-year-old amateur ranked No. 91 on the WTA Tour.

Ranked No. 75 in the world, Jackson gave the U.S. an insurmountable 3-1 lead when she defeated Martina Muller, 7-6 (2), 6-2 Sunday.  Jackson became the lowest-ranked woman to play singles for the U.S. Fed Cup team when she upset world No. 14 Anna-Lena Groenefeld in the opening match on Saturday, 6-2, 3-6, 7-5.

"I am definitely happy with my performance here.  I think that the big thing was, especially in this last match, that I fought well," said Jackson.  "I have respect for every player out there, but I have confidence in myself and in my game.   I was coming here hoping to contribute to my team and get a couple of wins under my belt and help us take the tie.  That's what I did, so I am extremely happy."

Craybas gave the United States a 2-0 lead on Saturday when she rallied to beat Julia Schruff 4-6, 6-2, 7-5, but failed to clinch the win for the United States when she lost to Groenefeld 6-2, 7-5 in Sunday's opener.

The United States will face Belgium in the semifinals July 12-13 (the weekend after the Wimbledon finals) at a site to be selected by the Belgian tennis federation.  Led by No. 2 Kim Clijsters and No. 4 Justine Henin-Hardenne, Belgium knocked off two-time defending champion Russia in the first round, 3-2.

Asked if she viewed the semifinals as another chance for the United States to pull an upset, Craybas said, "We don't look at it that way.  We look at it as our next match and we will go out there to win.  We always go out there to win."

The United States leads all nations with 17 Fed Cup titles, but has not won the event since 2000.

2006 Fed Cup by BNP Paribas
United States vs. Germany
Post-match Press Conferences

Sunday, April 23

U.S. Fed Cup Captain Zina Garrison
"I am extremely proud of this team.  They jelled together very well.  They were very excited to play for their country.  They had dinners together.  They hit together.  We had two young juniors here (as part of the Fed Cup "Young Guns" program) and they hung out with them.  You could actually see the result of that teamwork on court.  They wanted to win no only for their country but for each other as well."

"I knew it was going to be tough.  I knew that Martina was going to come out and give everything she possibly could. I was just hoping that Jamea would come out and play the game that I knew she could play.  I knew we would have to fight and we knew that when we got here.

"Having the opportunity to go up 2-0 yesterday was an opportunity that we wanted to take advantage of today and they did that."

If she had seen Jamea play that well before
"Actually, yeah.  I have been watching her since she was extremely young.  I think she was 11 or 12 when I took her to England for a team trip.  So I have been watching her for quite some time, but I had no idea that she could move that well.  She probably should have let me know that. 

"She moved extremely well and she fought.  That's all you can ask for."

On if this will be the core of the U.S. Fed Cup team going forward
"The good thing is that we have so many Americans (to choose from).  We still have the top players and we have the young ones that are coming up.  Hopefully the young ones will take what they have learned here and use it to become our top ones.  That's what we are hoping for.

"It was my take on it to give them the experience here so that they believe that they can go on an be a top player."

"You believe, right?" (looking at Jamea Jackson)

Jackson: "Yeah, I do."

On facing either Russia or Belgium in the Fed Cup semifinals in July
"It's tough either way.  We've lost to Russia last year.  We don't have any preference whether we go (to Belgium) or play Russia here.  We are really fortunate that we are there and that we are able to play again."

Jamea Jackson
"I am definitely happy with my performance here.  I think that the big thing was, especially in this last match, that I fought well.  I have been playing better the past few months and have been getting out there and competing with the top players, so I had confidence coming into this tie."

"I think I have taken what I have learned in the past few tournaments and from yesterday and just incorporated it in today.  I think that's why I was successful."

On Muller's style of play
"She was definitely tough to play, especially on clay.  She fights. She gets a lot of balls back in play. She moves them around well and uses a lot of different spins.  I know there was a point there, especially in the middle to end of the first set, where I struggled with it a little bit, but I kept my head and I stayed focused and I pulled through."

On how the team will celebrate the win
"I believe we are going to party.  That's what I was told.  We do not have a location, but if we did, I don't know if I would disclose it."

On if she thought she would have the best record of the team this weekend
"I didn't really think about it at all.  I was coming here hoping to contribute to my team and get a couple of wins under our belts and help us take the tie.  That's what I did, so I am extremely happy."

 Jill Craybas
On her Impressions of the match
"I think Anna-Lena played very well today. She served very well. I struggled on my serve a little bit and she took advantage of that. I think that made a huge difference in the match."

 On if she expected Groenefeld to play at a high level after her loss yesterday
"She's No. 14 in the world. Yeah, I thought so. Everybody is different (coming off of a loss). You never know when you get on the tennis court who is going to show up."

 When asked if Groenefeld started well or if she (Craybas) started slowly
"I think it is a little bit of both.  I mean she came out firing and she was determined to win today.  She was hot from the start.  I was a little bit on my back feet. I never got up in the court and that didn't allow me to play as well as I can."

 On her expectations for Jamea's match
"Jamea has been playing well.  I think she is a good fight, a great competitor.  She is not going to give up for one second and that's a huge advantage for us because you know she is going to try and work through it.  I think she is going to be great and going to pull us through."