Italy and USA will meet in San Diego this week end for a rematch of last year’s Fed Cup final, won by Pennetta and co 4-0 in Reggio Calabria.
Even though USA lead their head-to-head 9 to 1, italian players are the big favorites in the absence of Serena and Venus Williams. All 4 members of the italian team (Francesca Schiavone, Flavia Pennetta, Roberta Vinci and Sara Errani) are better ranked than the best US player: Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
Hard courts are obviously not Francesca’s and Flavia’s best surface, but they will be both boosted by their recent good results: Schiavone qualified for the first time for the WTA championships whereas Pennetta captured the doubles WTA Championships with partner Gisela Dulko last week.
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Match of the day: Federer defeats Falla 5-7 4-6 6-4 7-6 6-0 in 3hrs 18min
It could have been Falla’s biggest win of his career, instead it will remain his cruelest defeat ever. World number 60, Alejandro Fallo never reached an ATP final, his best result in a Grand Slam is a third round at this year’s Australian Open, however he was just a couple points away to cause the biggest upest in tennis history: he lead Federer by 2 sets to love with 4 break points at 4-4 in the third, and served for the match at 5-4 in the fourth. But suddenly he woke up, realized what he was up to and choked.
A really disappointing performance by Federer who never looked like the 16th Grand Slam champion he is.

Did you watch Federer’s match? What do you think of his poor start? Is he still the favorite for the title? Please vote.

There was much less drama for last year’s runner-up Andy Roddick and for come-back queens Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin who qualified easily in straight sets.

Seeds upsets: Francesca Schiavone, Ivan Ljubicic, Marin Cilic

Tomorrow on Centre court:
Serena Williams vs Michelle Larcher de Brito
Kei Nishikori vs Rafael Nadal
Robin Soderling vs Robby Ginepri

What a strange Roland Garros this year, with very few intense battles, insipid semifinals but a flamboyant first time winner.

The Good:

- Francesca Schiavone:

- Sam Stosur

- Robin Soderling: Ex-bad boy Robin Soderling finished runner-up for the second year in a row. He once again impressed the tennis world with his amazing win over defending champion Roger Federer. But unfortunately for him, he didn’t really get into the final against Rafa: “I didn’t play as good as I did last year. I didn’t serve so well. I wasn’t hitting the ball as clean. You know, I had some chances in the beginning, but I didn’t take them. And then he won the first and then played really well in the second, so then, you know, that’s about… “

- Jurgen Melzer: The big surprise in the men’s draw. More famous for his girlfriends (Myskina, Cibulkova…) than for his game, Melzer reached the semifinals of a major for the first time of his career after his surprising wins over David Ferrer and Novak Djokovic.

The Bad:

- French players: What a disaster! The best frenchman was Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who was forced to retire in the 4th round against Mikhail Youzhny. Monfils was beaten by Fognini, Gasquet by Murray. There was not a single in the second week. A disaster.

- Svetlana Kuznetsova: Just 3 words: waste of talent.

- Dinara Safina: The worst performance of this French Open is without a doubt the loss of former number one Dinara Safina to Kimiko Date. Safina lead by one set and 2 breaks, and then 4-1 in the third set, but she self imploded and offered the match to the japanese veteran. It was Date’s first Grand Slam victory since the 1996 US Open.

The King:

Rafael Nadal

Francesca Schiavone is without a doubt the most surprising but also one of the most deserving Grand Slam winner. After a 12 year carrer, she conquered Roland Garros but also the italian hearts.

Her historical made the headlines in Italy. There was a 4-page report in La Gazzetta Sportiva on Sunday, with stories about her childhood, interviews of Francesca’s parents but also of Nicola Pietrangeli and Adriano Panatta both former Roland Garros winner (1959 and 1960 for Pietrangeli, 1976 for Panatta).

Her improbable and incredible run also inspired Marcello Lippi, Italy’s football national coach: “I want 11 Schiavone [for the World Cup]“

Francesca Schiavone à propos Sam Stosur: “She’s very strong, great power. She improves so mentally, physically a lot.
I think will be very tough and very close match, and will be a lot of tactics in the court. I think like this.”

Sam Stosur about Francesca Schiavone: “I think, you know, it’s a final. It’s a different situation and everything else. I mean, who knows what’s gonna happen? I think it’s whoever can handle it better on the day. And then like I said before, maybe keep it about the tennis and they’ll probably have a good shot at winning.”

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Nobody saw this final coming. Well, Stosur’s presence in final is not such a surprise given her great results lately (win in Charleston and final in Stuttgart), but Schivone’s presence was really unexpected. Her best result in a Grand Slam so far was a quarter finals in Wimbledon last year.

But today, both Sam and Francesca are writing a beautiful page of their country tennis history.

Sam Stosur is the first Australian woman to reach a Grand Slam final since Wendy Turnbull in 1980. And Francesca Schiavone is now the first Italian woman ever to reach a Grand Slam final. She will also crack the Top 10 for the first time next week – just the second Italian ever to do so, after Flavia Pennetta.

Sam Stosur:

All the hard time is paying off for Stosur. Sidelined for about 9 months in 2007-2008 with the debilitating career-threatening Lyme’s disease, she recovered to regain her place in the top 30 last season. She captured her first WTA title last fall over … Francesca Schiavone and cracked the top 10. Stosur’s serve and forehand groundstrokes, hit with heavy spin are considered some of the best on the women’s tour.
She had an incredible run these past two weeks: she has beaten three past and present n°1s in a row (Justine Henin, Serena Williams, Jelena Jankovic) on the way to the final.

Stosur’s record in finals so far:

Francesca Shiavone

Francesca’s path to the final was much more easier: she defeated Caroline Wozniacki in quarters and Elena Dementieva in semifinals, but the Dane was exhausted by her marathon match against Flavia Pennetta in the previous round, and Elena retired after the loss of the first set.
She is a very complete player and likes to attack the net to finish off the point.

Schiavone’s record in finals so far:

So, who’s the favorite for the title this afternoon?

Sam and Francesca are both in the form of their life but Stosur seems to be the one who will capture her maiden Grand Slam title.

But who knows how both of them will handle the pressure?

Sam used to be a choker but everything has changed since a few months. And as she explained it in press conference she already has Grand Slam finals experience… in doubles. But the pressure is on the Australian, as the Italian is clearly the underdog.
Francesca is a fighter and will give eveything for the title, she also knows there won’t be any other chance for her!

So, it will be an interesting match today between these two veterans. Sam leads their head to head 4 to 1, she has won their last four meetings. She’s clearly the favorite but a final is so different from every other match, so who knows what can happen.

You can follow the final live on Tennis Buzz this afternoon.