replaced by Davis Cup captain Guy Forget. At the beginning of 1999, Mauresmo gained further success by reaching the final of the Australian Open, defeating No. 1 Lindsay Davenport en route. This good result allowed her to become one of four Frenchwomen to reach the Top 15 (alongside Pierce, Tauziat and Testud), and owed to her being included in the team's first tie against Russia. However, they were upset, 2–3, due a poor singles performance from Tauziat and a loss in the decisive doubles. The fact that France had remained in the World Group for so long meant that for the 2000 Fed Cup, they once again automatically qualified for the highest level of competition. This time, the World Group took place in three different pools, with the French being drawn in Pool C alongside Belgium, Russia and Australia. The French team had even more depth this year, with Pierce holding up as French singles and doubles No. 1 (at World No. 4 in both), while Tauziat, Halard-Decugis and Testud were 5 and 10, 9 and 15, and 11 and 14 in singles and doubles. Mauresmo and Fusai rounded out the respective French Top Fives, Mauresmo being No. 16 in singles and Fusai being No. 12 in doubles. However, Pierce and Mauresmo both opted out of play due to injury, leaving debutante and singles No. 20 Nathalie Dechy to take her place alongside Tauziat, Halard-Decugis and Testud. The slightly weakened team still managed to defeat Russia with ease, with Halard-Decugis taking the tie by defeating the injured Russian No. 1 Anna Kournikova, who hit 43 unforced errors throughout the match. They then won over Australia, with Halard-Decugis and Tauziat winning the doubles rubber after Testud suffered a close loss to 1998 Junior champion Jelena Dokic. From this point they were expected to win the pool, as the remaining team, Belgium, was without its top players Van Roost and Appelmans and thus led by sixteen-year-old Kim Clijsters. Nevertheless, the Belgians managed to upset the French with Callens and Clijsters stunning Halard-Decugis and Tauziat in singles. The Belgians then followed up their surprise win with a defeat of Russia, which sealed their win of the pool and therefore France's denial of a chance in the final stage. France's inability to reach the finals in 2000 meant that they were forced to play through World Group Play-offs to reach the 2001 World Group.