Gabi Taylor: Fed Cup first selection could open door to first Grand Slam

Gabi Taylor has broken into the world's top 200 for the first time this year

Gabi Taylor is targeting a first spot in a Grand Slam main draw following her first selection for Great Britain's Fed Cup team.

The 20-year-old from Southampton will join up with Johanna Konta, Heather Watson and Anna Smith for the World Group II play-off tie in Japan.

It caps off a strong start to the year which has seen Taylor break into the world top 200 for the first time.

"I'm really happy and excited for what the future holds," she told BBC Sport.

Taylor has won three titles on the International Tennis Federation (ITF) circuit this year to climb from 323 to 175 in the rankings.

She hopes to play a part in Great Britain reaching the Fed Cup World Group for the first time since 1993 when she joins the team in Mike, Japan on 21 and 22 April.

"It's going to be an awesome experience," Taylor told BBC Radio Solent. "I'm looking forward to it massively. It's a strange but overwhelming feeling to be part of the team for the first time."

Taylor will make her debut in the French Open qualifiers next month after earning a spot based on her own ranking and hopes it could open the door to bigger things come the grass court season.

"I never expected from the beginning of the year to halve my ranking, so it's been a great couple of months," she said.

"It would be a great experience to play in my first grand slam, but before that I've got a lot of tournaments to prepare and play in."