Fed Cup Final 1-1 After Day One

In the first match of the championship tie, Francesca Schiavone continued to show why she has been one of the most solid Fed Cup commodities this year, taking out Kirsten Flipkens, 61 63. She raced out to commanding leads of 5-0 in both sets before the young Belgian put on her rally cap, but the Italian remained unfazed, closing it out in just over an hour.

"I played very well in the first set and in the second until 5-0, but after that she grew up a little bit," Schiavone said. "When you don't have anything to lose, you go free. But then I put in a good serve, a great kick, and I won the last point."

"Until 6-1 5-0 she hardly made any mistakes, and it was hard for me to get in the game," said the 20-year-old Flipkens. "I knew I had to play more aggressively. At that moment she was a little bit out of concentration and I took the chances that I could. But she is No.14 in the world so the rankings have been respected today."

The second rubber of the day was far more intense, with Justine Henin-Hardenne pulling out a come-from-behind 64 75 win over Flavia Pennetta. Henin-Hardenne clawed her way back from significant deficits in both sets, 3-0 down in the first and 5-2 down in the second, eventually clinching the match with a fierce overhead and evening the tie at one apiece.

"The crowd really helped me to win," Henin-Hardenne said. "I didn't play my best tennis but the important thing today was to win. It will be a difficult day tomorrow. I have to win my singles, then I am ready to play the doubles."

"She is No.2 and I am No.20, that's what happens," said Pennetta, referring to their Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Singles Rankings. "She played the important points much better than me. At 5-3 in the second, I probably began to think too much."

Both reverse singles rubbers and the potentially-deciding doubles rubber will be played on Sunday, with Henin-Hardenne kicking things off against Schiavone and Flipkens squaring off against Pennetta. The scheduled doubles teams are Belgium's Leslie Butkiewicz and Caroline Maes against Italy's Mara Santangelo and Roberta Vinci.

Henin-Hardenne is 5-0 lifetime against Schiavone, although all of those meetings have been close, including their championship match at Sydney earlier this year, where the Belgian was forced to rally back from deficits of 4-1 in the second set and 5-3 in the third en route to a 46 75 75 victory. Pennetta and Flipkens have faced off once previously, with the Italian prevailing, 61 60, in the second round of Roland Garros earlier this year.
-- WTA