BRINDISI, ITALY: Not even the presence of Serena Williams could prevent Italy from keeping its spot in the Fed Cup by BNP Paribas World Group.
When Flavia Pennetta and Sara Errani defeated Williams and Alison Riske on the red clay of the Circolo Tennis Brindisi 60 63 in the doubles decider, it also meant Italy overcame the USA in a tie for the fifth straight time.
“We beat the United States with Serena Williams – and Serena played all three matches,” said Italian Captain Corrado Barrazzutti. “We’re happy for this victory. We really don’t deserve to go in the second division.”
Out went Williams’ perfect 16-0 record in the Fed Cup and the USA, the record champion, will have to wait until 2017 at the earliest to collect an 18th title. But hometown darling Pennetta extended her winning streak in the competition to – not including a retirement – 14 matches.
Indeed Pennetta probably couldn’t have had a finer weekend, sparkling at her local club. After Williams battled past Errani 46 76(3) 63 to give the USA a 2-1 advantage to begin the reverse singles, Pennetta ensured the live doubles rubber in this play-off on the southern coast of Italy by crushing Christina McHale 61 61.
“It’s something really special in my career,” said Pennetta. “I tried everything that I could and everything was working pretty good.”
With Williams, Errani and Pennetta around, three former doubles No. 1 players were on show deep into the afternoon on a chilly, windy Sunday.
Errani’s partnership with Robert Vinci brought a career Grand Slam, yet the former and Pennetta looked like they’d been playing together for years. In perfect unison – they have won one doubles title together – the hosts grabbed a 5-0 lead in a quick-fire 17 minutes.
What pressure Riske must have felt. The 24-year-old had never met Williams prior to the series, and here she was playing with one of the best players of all time in a crunch encounter.
Riske could hardly be blamed for the result in her second Fed Cup encounter. She and Williams both struggled.
Williams only got going in the final game of the first set, yet was unable to maintain the momentum for long. Her woes were summed up in the third game when she attempted to play a ball near the net.
Saying “got it” to Riske, she slipped, staggered and missed the ball entirely. Williams, Riske, captain Mary Joe Fernandez and the entire crowd laughed in a light-hearted moment amid the tension.
The Italians rallied from a break down in the second, with Pennetta delivering the fatal blow. Her forehand down the line allowed Italy to break for 4-3. Soon after the Italians were all celebrating the victory on court.
Williams’ clash with Errani in the singles brought the most drama and perhaps foreshadowed her doubles display.
Errani suggested yesterday she would need some assistance to beat Williams for the first time in eight attempts – and it was Mother Nature who was seemingly obliging.
The gentle breeze of Saturday was gone, replaced by a stiff wind that contributed to both players repeatedly catching their ball toss. Prior to taking to the court, Williams even donned a scarf with her tracksuit.
On the first point, Williams, the 19-time Grand Slam champion, hit a double fault.
Their styles told us Williams would be doing most of the dictating and so it proved, the World No. 1 striking 70 winners – and 61 unforced errors.
How many times is Williams broken to love? Well, it happened twice in a row in the second set. “Today has been a big eye opener,” Williams said after her singles match. “I need to go home and really train. Totally not ready for the clay-court season as I thought I was.
“I’m playing like I’m on hard court and I’m not … I have to play and be ready to hit 1,000 shots if necessary.”
That second set was where the match turned.
Errani – only the second player to take a set off Williams in the Fed Cup – had an opportunity to serve it out after breaking for 5-4 courtesy of a double fault. And when she led 30-15, the Azzurri faithful were ready to explode.
But then Williams found a consistent patch, and despite missing a set point at 6-5, seized the initiative in the tiebreak by storming out to a 6-1 lead.
“When she was serving for the match, I didn’t think about losing,” said Williams. “But I thought, ‘I need to play better if I want to stay in it.’”
If a Williams romp was expected in the third, it did not immediately happen. She did eventually step on the gas at 3-3, claiming the final 10 points.
Needing a win to stay alive, Barrazzutti replaced Giorgi with Pennetta.
Familiar surroundings, yes, for Pennetta, although that comes with pressure, too.
Giorgi could count herself unlucky, since she stretched Williams to open the tie. But consistency isn’t yet the 23-year-old’s forte, while Pennetta is a Grand Slam semifinalist and former Top 10 player.
In less of a surprise, McHale replaced Lauren Davis, who found it hard going Saturday against Errani. By now the wind had subsided slightly.
After Pennetta saved break points in the second game, she settled and took control. Getting broken to begin the second set was a minor blip for Pennetta, who last tasted defeat in singles in 2009.
But for the USA, defeats to Italy are nothing new. “I’m very sorry for America,” said a sincere sounding Barrazzutti. “But we are very happy for my team, because they really deserved to stay in the first division.”
By Ravi Ubha
NOTE A MARGINE: Mentre "altrove" sembra che l'eroina dell'incontro sia stata la Divina Giorgi, l'articolo della Fed Cup dedica alla Divina quattro parole in croce, e non esattamente lusinghiere... Le traduciamo, per i fognisti che hanno una conoscenza dell'inglese più o meno dello stesso livello di quella di Matteo Renzi...
"...avendo bisogno di una vittoria per rimanere in corsa, Barazzutti ha sostituito in corsa la Giorgi con Pennetta [...] la "consistenza" non è ancora il punto forte della 23enne [Giorgi], mentre Pennetta è stata una semifinalista slam, e una top ten...
Fine del cantico sulla Divina.
L'articolo sottolinea invece il fatto che solo un'altra volta in fed cup la Williams aveva perso un set, e MAI era stata breakkata a zero due volte in un set. Così come l'articolo si dilunga sulla facilità delle altre due vittorie nei singolari di Errani e Vinci, e sulla incredibile vittoria delle due italiane in doppio. Che, guarda caso, coincide con l'unica sconfitta di Serena Williams in doppio, in un incontro di Fed Cup.
L'articolo sottolinea anche come, al netto di un ritiro per infortunio, Pennetta ha "allungato" a 14 il filotto delle sue vittorie "consecutive" in Fed Cup.
Per il momento, Godot si fa ancora attendere. Solo per non dimenticare: Camila Giorgi ha esordito in Fed Cup l'anno scorso. Finora ha ottenuto i seguenti risultati:
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