Italy wins opening two singles rubbers against Russia

Tennis Betting Lines

04/25/2009 - Castellaneta Marina, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Flavia Pennetta and Francesca Schiavone posted singles victories on Saturday to give Italy a 2-0 lead over Russia in their Fed Cup semifinal showdown.

Pennetta met little resistance in a 6-4, 6-0 win over Anna Chakvetadze in the opening match before Schiavone rallied from a set down to earn a 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 triumph over Svetlana Kuznetsova in the second match of the day on the red clay at Nova Yardinia.

The Italians can dethrone the two-time defending Fed Cup champs with one victory in either of the reverse singles matches Sunday or in the doubles tilt if necessary.

Pennetta and Kuznetsova are slated to meet in the first reverse singles match Sunday. It will then be Schiavone against Chakvetadze. If the Russians manage to win both, the decisive doubles rubber is scheduled to pit the Italian team of Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci against the Russian duo of Nadia Petrova and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

On Saturday, Pennetta dominated Chakvetadze in just 67 minutes, especially in the second set when the Russian managed to win a mere nine points.

Kuznetsova turned the tables early in the second match Saturday, breaking Schiavone's serve three times to capture the first set. Schiavone, though, rebounded and converted both of her break-point chances in the second and saved four break-points against her own serve to get back in the match.

Neither player served well in a third set that featured a total of five breaks. Schiavone got one more, though, and completed the comeback on an unforced Kuznetsova error to put the host country on the brink of its third Fed Cup final in the past four years.

The Italians have never beaten the Russians in four previous Fed Cup ties, losing in the 2007 final. Italy won its lone Fed Cup crown in 2006, beating Belgium in the final.

Russia, meanwhile, is staring at its first Fed Cup loss since the 2006 first round against Belgium. The Russians have won four of the last five Fed Cup crowns.

The winner of this tie will play for the Fed Cup title in November against the winner of the United States/Czech Republic matchup, which is even at 1-1.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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