November 9, 2019

The final showdown: Australia vs. France on Day 1 of the 2019 Fed Cup Final

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The two teams and officials were introduced at the official opening ceremony at RAC Arena. (Getty)

02 /15

Ashleigh Barty arrived at the 2019 Fed Cup Final after winning the Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen and sealing the year-end World No.1 ranking. (Getty)

03 /15

The Aussie team was pumped up to start the afternoon on home turf. (Getty)

04 /15

The French fans brought the passion to Perth. (Getty)

05 /15

Ajla Tomljanovic made her official Fed Cup debut for Australia in Saturday's opening singles rubber. (Getty)

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Tomljanovic faced off against Kristina Mladenovic in their third career meeting, and first in Fed Cup play. (Getty)

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Mladenovic, a Hopman Cup champion in Perth in 2017, was a crowd favorite despite being from the visiting side. (Getty)

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Tomljanovic was awarded Australian citizenship in January of 2018, after competing for her native Croatia. (Getty)

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Mladenovic ultimately scored a 6-1, 6-1 win over Tomljanovic to give France a 1-0 lead. (Getty)

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Mladenovic salutes the crowd after giving France a 1-0 lead. (Getty)

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Barty next took the court as the Aussie No.1, arriving on court with her niece, Lucy. (Getty)

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Barty faced off against Caroline Garcia in the second of Saturday's opening singles matches. (Getty)

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Garcia in action against Barty in the second singles match. (Getty)

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Barty served eight aces and saved both break points she faced to score a 6-0, 6-0 victory to tie the final at 1-1. (Getty)

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The reverse singles will take place on Sunday, with a deciding doubles rubber to be played last should the singles be split at 2-2.

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