Currently ranked 74th in the WTA Tour rankings, Harkleroad spoke to USTA.com prior to her first Fed Cup singles match in La Jolla, Calif. She discusses a variety of topics, including playing on the U.S. Fed Cup team for the first time, competing in Midland, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and more.

USTA.com: Have you played in the Midland Challenger before?

Ashley Harkleroad:

USTA.com: Why did you decide to play this year?

Ashley Harkleroad: It's a $75K, it's right before Memphis, and it's a good warm-up tournament for Memphis because they're both indoors. In the fall, I won a $75K indoors, and I do like to play indoors more than I used to. It's a good little warm-up tournament before Memphis.

USTA.com: It's a big switch from San Diego to Midland, right?

Ashley Harkleroad: Temperature-wise, yeah, it's going to be cold. But I'm from Chattanooga, Tenn., originally, so it gets cold this time of year, and I'm used to it. I kind of like it.

USTA.com: Do you have a preference now for playing indoors?

Ashley Harkleroad: No. I pretty much like any surface. I'd rather be on a hard court, but I also like clay. I used to not really enjoy indoors, but I'm starting to, more and more. My game is built around that. I like to come to the net. Like I said, Memphis is a WTA tournament, and Midland is a $75,000 Challenger, so that's a good little week before Memphis to get really prepared, get matches in, build confidence before Memphis.

USTA.com: How has this Fed Cup week been for you?

Ashley Harkleroad: This has all been a great experience for me. It's going to give me a lot of confidence leaving here with hopefully two wins under my belt. But any other way is still a great experience. It's a little bit of pressure, but good pressure because of the team aspect. It's really going to help me mature more in my game. My mentality on the court will mature, being around Lindsay, Lisa and Laura, so I think it's going to be great for me, walking out of here, for my individual tennis. I enjoy the team aspect, also, so I'm going to enjoy Fed Cup, and I think I'm going to play well.

USTA.com: What are your goals for the whole year?

Ashley Harkleroad: I really don't like to look at rankings so much. I'm just trying to improve on the things I think I need to improve on each and every day, to be the best tennis player that I can be.

My highest ranking was 39, so I would like to beat that. I'd like to get back up to the top 50 this year, which I was before I lost some points. But again, it's not so good to always look at the ranking. It's better to focus on your game and yourself and trying to get better, and that will all follow.

I'd like to play mostly WTA tournaments, but Midland's a $75K, so that's sort of like a WTA tournament. It's always great to play $75Ks, especially if you're ranked around where I am, or even if I was top 50, to get matches in and to get a consistent amount in, one after another, winning, because there's nothing like getting matches in and learning to win matches.

Sometimes when you're on the main tour, you may not be winning that much -- maybe a match here or there -- so I'm excited to be going to Midland.

USTA.com: What are some aspects of your game that you'd like to improve on this year? What do you feel are the strongest parts of your game?

Ashley Harkleroad: I just want to continue to improve on taking my opportunities and coming to the net when I should, continue to work on my serve because I'm little, sort of, compared to some of these girls. I'm just 5-foot-6, so the serve is not going to be huge, and it's not going to buzz people off the court. But there are ways and things I can do to help it. I also want to continue to play a very patient, aggressive style game. Those would be some of the things I want to continue