Posted by Ravi Ubha, ESPN.com
Mary Joe Fernandez needs an infusion of power about now, the kind Hideki Matsui inflicted on the Phillies. Without either
Serena Williams, who is gleefully making the rounds in London promoting her book (no mention of crystal meth, by the way), or her calmer sister Venus, Fernandez's spirited, yet inexperienced U.S. bunch goes in as the underdog against close knit Italy this weekend in the Fed Cup finale.
Guess Serena's book hasn't been translated into Italian just yet. Williams could have popped in to pretty Reggio Calabria in southern Italy for a two-day cameo, then headed up north to Rome and Milan extolling "On the line," mingling with gelato and limoncello in hand in the process.
Where's the foresight?
As it is, Fernandez is largely counting on Melanie Oudin and Alexa Glatch, ranked 132nd, in singles. Oudin inspired as a 17-year-old at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. However, months later as an 18-year-old, she's flopped. The tenacious baseliner failed to qualify for tournaments at Tokyo and Beijing -- losing to U.S. veteran Jill Craybas and Glatch, respectively -- and bailed from Luxembourg with gastrointestinal illness.
Glatch, who turned 20 in September, is 2-8 at the top level since an outstanding performance in the semifinals, on the road, against the Czech Republic. One of those wins, a 6-1, 6-1 drubbing, came against none other than Italian No. 1 Flavia Pennetta at the French Open. Before you get too excited, let's point out that Pennetta played on a bum left thigh.
Italy might not possess the wow factor of Russia's team or the glitz of Serbia's, but in the 1-2 punch of Pennetta and Francesca Schiavone, the Italians own a hard-working duo that makes opponents hustle for every point.
Pennetta used to be known as a player capable of winning only lesser events (no offense to Sopot, Bogota, Acapulco, etc.). That changed this summer.
The 27-year-old reeled off 15 successive victories, triumphing in Los Angeles and knocking off the likes of Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova, Vera Zvonareva and Nadia Petrova to become the first Italian to crack the top 10. While Oudin made plenty of headlines reaching the U.S. Open quarters, Pennetta snuck into the last eight.
Her coach, Gabriel Urpi, credited the turnaround to Pennetta's wiser on-court decisions and lack of panic. By all accounts, a real sweetheart off court (the Italian media love her), Pennetta gets riled up in Fed Cup. Appearing to flash the middle finger to the chair umpire, as she did against France in the quarterfinals, suggests as much.
Schiavone is riding a five-match winning streak in the Fed Cup and ended the WTA season on a real high, claiming a second career title and dropping only one of her past 10 encounters. How relieved she must have been to capture the Kremlin Cup after falling to 1-10 in her previous 11 finals. (Francesca, meet Svetlana.)
Ranked 50th as recently as the grass-court campaign, paying for a dismal first half, the 29-year-old roadrunner now clocks in at No. 16. Schiavone, who hits with ample spin on the forehand, finishes in the top 30 for a seventh straight year. Highly impressive, given the finite lifespan of a tennis pro.
Expect Oudin to lift her game, but it won't be enough. Italy should grab a second title, 4-1, winning all four singles tilts.
