The final started with the fiery Francesca Schiavone vs. 98th ranked Kirsten Flipkens, after a few nervous games from both players the Italian showed her experience to easily come through in straight sets. Next match up was Belgian heroine Justine Henin-Hardenne vs. Italian hottie Flavia Pennetta. Any match against Henin-Hardenne was always gonna be tough and though Pennetta tried her hardest even with an injured wrist, nothing was good enough to stop the Belgian from winning the match and bringing the tie to Belgian 1-1 Italy.
Santangelo, Schiavone, Vinci
Day 2 began with high expectations from the fans from both sides - singing, cheering, chanting and flag waving gave the second day an atmosphere fitting for such a great clash of the tennis titans. Kim Clijsters was there to cheer on her compatriot Belgians as was Tathiana Garbin and boyfriend of Pennetta, Carlos Moya for the Italians.
First up was the battle of the one handed backhands - Justine Henin-Hardenne vs. Francesca Schiavone. The first set started once again with lots of nerves from both players and many breaks of serve. After a close set Henin upped the standard of her game to brake the Italian and take the first set 6-4, the second set was a bit more one sided with the mighty Italian showing what a great fighter she is and taking an early lead was a 4-0 advantage but after a few bad linecalls and a 'convenient' injury timeout from Henin, the whole momentum of the match changed. The Belgian managed to fight her way back into the match and took the second set and the match 6-4, 7-5 to bring a 2-1 lead for the local team.
Fourth match of the weekend - and a great turning point for Italy, was the clash of Mara Santangelo vs. Kirsten Flipkens. The young Belgian, affectionately nicknamed 'Flipper' by the fans, easily took the first set with the aid of the hugely partizan Belgian crowd - but the 26 year-old showed her real talent by dig deep and bring the game back level by taking the second set. The third set was always in totally control of Santangelo, playing with such style, focus and finesse - even though the rowdy Belgian fans shouted and booed her every shot. I think this match will be a great turning point in the career of Santangelo giving her the confidence to know she can win in these adverse conditions - and win she did, bagelling Flipkens in the process to win 6-7 (3-7), 6-3, 6-0.The fifth and deciding match of the weekend was the doubles played by Schiavone/Vinci vs. Henin/Flipkens - the Belgian team worked very well together, both playing great volleys to take the first set. The Italians were a bit slow to get going, but in the second played some mighty tennis with Schiavone on the baseline and Vinci at the net - one point saw Schiavone high 4 overheads against Henin, perhaps the earlier defeat was the motivation needed to fire up Schiavone who played the leader of the Italian doubles team. As the game headed into the third set and Italian played with confidence and were leading the game 2-0 30-0 when Henin-Hardenne called for the trainer to tend a knee injury, even though she was showing no signs of a problem the Belgian decided (against the wishes of her team) to retire from the match, giving the win to the Italians and the Fed Cup 2006 title too!
The Fed Cup 2006 Champions
This is deja vu for Henin who retired from the finals at the Australian Open earlier this year, against French world No1 Amelie Mauresmo, handing the title to the French women without her getting the chance to feel that winning 'match point moment' - the Belgian suffered much criticism over her actions in Australia and it does not take a tennis expert to guess that she will face the same criticism after retiring from the Fed Cup final also. The Italian team was not disheartened by the why the weekend finished and didn't let it stop them from enjoying the occasion - the first time Italy has ever won the Fed Cup - I'm sure the party will continue for the Italian ladies all year and after the great heart and spirit that the team showed, they truly deserve it enjoy it!
Garbin, Schiavone, Pennetta, Santangelo, Vinci, Barazzutti (captain)
