World No. 3 Simona Halep a "no" for Fed Cup in Montreal; your move, Eugenie Bouchard

World No. 3 Simona Halep will not be taking part in the Fed Cup World Group I playoff tie between Romania and Canada, to be held at the Aréna Maurice-Richard in Montreal April 18-19.

Now, the countdown begins, as it did in February, to find out whether the top Canadian, Montreal's Genie Bouchard, will play.

Halep had a productve tour of the U.S., winning her biggest career title at Indian Wells and reaching the semi-finals in Miami, where she lost a dramatic three-setter to world No. 1 Serena Williams.

Upon arriving home, Halep was interviewed at the airport and announced she would not return to North America to play the tie, which will be held indoors on a hard court with the clay-court season in Europe beginning immediately afterwards. Halep will play the star-studded indoor clay event in Stuttgart the week after Fed Cup.

Here's a brief bit in Romanian; Halep reportedly was greeted by quite a large crowd at the airport on her arrival. She might have considered playing it, had the tie been held in Europe. She also said she thought Romania had a pretty good change to win the tie without her. Which is quite true.

Now, what about the top Canadian, Genie Bouchard?

Well, still no official word.

It's like déja vu all over again. The official decision on Bouchard's participation in the World Group I first-round tie against the Czech Republic in February in Quebec City came down to the last minute; indeed, Fed Cup captain Sylvain Bouchard announced a three-woman team when the original nominations were due, leaving a spot open for Bouchard in case she decided to participate.

In the end, that spot went to 16-year-old Charlotte Robillard-Millette. The Canadians, predictably, were crushed by a squad from the Czech Republic that was without its own top two players, but boasted a lot more depth.

Bouchard's situation is quite a bit different than Halep's. For one, the Canadian hasn't played nearly as much tennis during the American hard-court swing. Bouchard played three matches at Indian Wells early in March, losing to qualifier Lesia Tsurenko and suffering an abdominal strain. She then lost her first match in Miami, more than a week ago.

She asked for, and received a wild card into the women's event in Charleston next week and so remains in North America, a relatively short flight away from her Montreal home.

That tournament takes place on Har-Tru, a North American artificial surface that is similar to the red European clay that will have all of Bouchard's attention for the next two months, in the leadup to the French Open.

Bouchard also is scheduled to play the indoor clay event in Stuttgart, as are most of the top 10. So a week in Montreal, on an indoor hard-court surface, sandwiched between two clay-court tournaments would not be the best preparation.

Nor will having to leave immediately for Germarny after the tie, having to adjust once again to the clay, and having to deal with the resulting jet lag, to play a tournament that boasts a very strong field.

All of which to say, they don't look like winning conditions. But you never know; Bouchard must still play one Fed Cup tie to confirm her eligibility for the Olympics in Rio next year.

You never know; not having to face an in-form Halep when Bouchard herself isn't in tip-top form might be tempting. The Romanians have some very good alternatives including Irina-Camelia Begu, who took Bouchard to three sets at the Australian Open. As well, there is the tricky Monica Niculescu, who played Serena Williams twice in the last few weeks, including that notable return to Indian Wells. Alexandra Dulgheru, who is returning to form after struggling with a knee injury, is another solid player.

We attempted, through the various channels, to confirm an interview with Bouchard down in Charleston. After a week, the head of communications at IMG, the agency that represents Bouchard, finally responded that "they will pass on this opportunity for now."