Fed Cup
2009, Italy are one win away
from their second ever Fed Cup title
All weekend the
Italian Fed Cup team sitting courtside wore special
t-shirts decorated with the face of Federico Luzzi on the
front, the 28-year-old Italian player who died suddenly
in October.
A tribute made not just in this semifinal but one also
made in Rome on Sunday where the likes of Roger Federer
and Novak Djokovic gave up their time to play for the
fans in Luzzi’s memory and for the charity bearing
his name.
Without doubt had Luzzi still been alive and in
Castellanetta Marina this weekend, he would have been
especially proud to be an Italian. The team, led by the
unrelenting Francesca Schiavone, reached its third Fed
Cup by BNP Paribas final in four years. It was the
28-year-old’s weekend and in many ways, payback.
In the 2007 final in Moscow she suffered defeats in three
sets on both the Saturday and the Sunday. Nineteen months
on she can erase those memories and replace them with
ones with a more joyful ending.
Schiavone a
tennis coach’s dream
Schiavone can only
be a tennis coach’s dream, willing to do everything
within her powers to be at the top, emotive - at times to
her detriment - but to remove any part of her character
would be to take away so much of what makes her a great
tennis player.
Grit and determination tell only half the story. After
spending five hours on court over the weekend, Italy’s
captain Corrado Barazzutti summed her up so well: “Francesca
is made for these types of competitions”.
They say it takes two to tango though and Flavia Penetta,
who won both her matches in France in the opening round,
set the ball rolling. She belied the nerves of being
watched by her close family and residents in nearby
Brindisi to get Italy off on the right foot in defeating
Anna Chakvetadze.
Russia
unseated
So often, seasoned
tennis observers have watched in awe as Russia’s
revered captain Shamil Tarpischev seemingly sets himself
up for a fall with a surprise selection, only to be
vindicated.
The inclusion of 17-year-old rookie Anastasia
Pavlychenkova to play the fourth, and what turned out to
be the crucial rubber, looked like another but in the end
it was a bridge too far. Without doubt, she will learn
much from the experience.
The team then that had lost just two live Fed Cup rubbers
in two years lose three in one weekend and relinquish
their crown.
First ever
home final for Italy
For the first time in their history the Italians will
host the Fed Cup final. They’ll wait and keep
fingers crossed their leaders of this weekend stay
healthy.
Where it is to be held remains to be seen; Schaivone was
asked by the Italian press if she would feel comfortable
playing in front of her own fans in Milan. The answer was
in the negative, her feeling that maybe Milan has too
many other things for distraction.
The Williams sisters will prove a significant distraction
should they don the stars and stripes in the autumn. US
captain Mary Joe Fernandez was adamant she will do
everything to get them on board.
But for now the cries of “Forza Italia” will
continue to ring in the ears of those here this weekend.
Italy are one win away from their second ever Fed Cup
title.
The Sony
Ericsson WTA Tour is the world’s leading
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representing 96 nations competing for more than $86
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