Racing around the clay with the confidence of a woman retracing her steps in a homecoming sprint, Flavia Pennetta reeled off six straight games to complete a 6-3, 6-1 conquest of American Alexa Glatch and stake host Italy to a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five match Fed Cup final on the red clay of the 5,400-seat "Rocco Polimeni", in Reggio Calabria today.
Veteran Francesca Schiavone will play US Open quarterfinalist Melanie Oudin in today's second singles match. Italy, which is bidding for its first Fed Cup championship since 2006, is 0-9 against the United States, but is playing its first Fed Cup final on home soil against a largely inexperienced American squad that is playing without World No. 1 Serena Williams, who withdrew a few days afer committing to compete.
The 27-year-old Pennetta confessed she felt the pre-match pressure constrict her nerves with such severity, she nearly cried in the lockerroom before the match. But relying on her extensive experience and quick court coverage, Pennetta pushed the taller and slower Glatch around the court in pursuit for much of the match in celebrating a happy homecoming to southern Italy.
"It's nice. It's really nice," Pennetta said immediately after the win. "I was really nervous in the beginning. I almost cried before I went on the court. I'm really happy because all my family and all my friends are here."
On a cool day with the temperature hovering at about 65 degrees when the first shot was struck and extremely slow court conditions, it took a couple of games for both players to break a sweat.
Utilizing all areas of the court, Pennetta hit behind Glatch, holding for 3-1 with a backhand winner down the line. In the sixth game, Glatch pressed Pennetta to deuce, but the veteran drew the six-foot-tall American forward with a drop shot and lofted a lob winner to hold for 4-2.
Glatch began to employ the variety in her game, mixing in slice backhands and the drop shot on occasion, to hold for 3-4. When Glatch banged a backhand into the net, Pennetta held for 5-3.
A flurry of forehand crosscourts concluded with Pennetta producing a sharper angle, pusing Glatch out of position and coaxing her into an errant down the line forehand for 0-30. Exploiting her advantage in court coverage, Pennetta drew a backhand error to reach triple set point. Glatch saved the first with a service winner then played her most complete point of the match, attacking net and blocking a forehand volley winner into the open court.
Glatch saved two set points but lofted a backhand behind the baseline and Pennetta trotted to the sideline with a one-set lead.
Urged on by U.S. captain Mary Joe Fernandez, Glatch regrouped prior to the start of the second set.
Immediately pressing Pennetta on serve, Glatch earned double break point in the opning game of the second set. Pennetta saved the first break point with a running backhand pass up the line and the second when Glatch did not move her feet on the return and pushed a forehand return into net. Glatch continued to hit her targets and forced a third break point, but Pennetta moved the ball side to side and drew the error for deuce. A timid double fault into net gave Glatch a fourth break point but Pennetta put a forehand right on the line and followed it foreard for an easy overhead. Pushed off the court by a Glatch forehand, pennetta was sliding off the doubles alley when she fired a forehand winner up the line. That shot seemed to fire her up, but Pennetta could not close and Glatch broke for 1-0 when Pennetta's backhand landed long.
It would prove to be a short-lived lead — and the last game the 20-year-old American would win. Glatch tried to chip an charge, but Pennetta was waiting and spun a crosscourt forehand pass to break back at love for 1-all. She stung a service winner to hold at 15 for 2-1.
"I think that after you win the first set, you just relax a little bit," Pennetta said. "I make a few mistakes, but it was not easy (to hit winners). You have to be very patient and play a lot of balls to make one winner — it's very hard."
Glatch again tried to move forward in the court, but Pennetta belted a backhand pass up the line for double break point. She hurled herself into a flying forehand — both feet were off the ground when she made contact — to break for 3-1. Pumping her fist in excitement, Pennetta poured on the pressure, hitting behind Glatch with a forehand winner to hold at love. It was her fourth straight game and gave her a commanding 4-1 lead.
An ace down the middle — her seventh of the match — propelled Pennetta to match point. She pounded a service winner down the middle to complete a 6-3, 6-1 triumph.
"At the beginning I thought I had a couple of chances but she played extremely well," said Glatch. "There were a few things which let me down."
In Sunday's reverse singles, Pennetta plays Oudin and Schiavone squares off against Glatch. The doubles match that concludes the final pits Italy's Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci against Liezel Huber and Vania King, who was named to the team after Williams withdrew.
