in the first two ties whilst only dropping two and six games respectively, but they were beaten in the quarterfinals by the Americans. Duxin retook the captaincy for the next year, but otherwise the team remained unchanged and very similar results occurred. The team won over Sweden and Argentina in the first two rounds, mainly due to the singles performances of Benedetti and Dürr, but were beaten in the quarterfinals by the United States. For 1979 an entirely new captain, player and broadcaster Jean-Paul Loth, and Benedetti momentarily departed from the team. However, the team for a third consecutive year managed to reach the quarterfinals, but were defeated by the United States, who were on a sixteen-tie winning streak. 1980–1989: lack of success Françoise Dürr left the team for the final time in 1980, leaving the team in a rather weak state despite the re-addition of Benedetti; of the WTA in the Year-End 1979, Thibault was the highest-ranked at No. 75, while Simon was the only other player to compete in Fed Cup who was within the Top 100 (at No. 84). This lack of depth was shown in the French results, as the team suffered another first-round lost, this time to Sweden, sending them to another consolation tournament. They played well in the consolation rounds, managing to easily pass through Denmark and Belgium, who were accompanied by Australian Open quarterfinalist Michele Gurdal, but the streak did not last as they only narrowly defeated South Korea in the semifinals and were beaten soundly by Canada in the final. For 1981, the team had a complete reshuffle. Benedetti and Simon were dropped, despite being the only French players in the 1980 singles Top 110, and were replaced with No. 145 Corinne Vanier, No. 173 Catherine Tanvier and the No. 180 Sophie Amiach; the latter two being capable doubles players who managed to reach the 1980 Australian Open doubles quarterfinals. This new team began well, avenging the Canadians, 3–0, but were beaten in the next round by the British. They were drawn against Hungary for the second round of the consolation rounds, but they withdrew prior to the tie. After this, Thibault and Simon returned to the team at the expense of Amiach and Tanvier. Vanier played for a second consecutive year, having become France's top singles player over last year and broken into the Year-End Top 70. However, this did not