Chakvetadze draws first blood for Russia
September 15, 2007
Anna Chakvetadze gave Russia a 1-0 lead in the Fed Cup final tie with Italy beating Francesca Schiavone in theng rubber here on Saturday.
The 20-year-old Chakvetadze, who is currently fifth in the world, clinched a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 win in two hours 15 minutes -- her third win in four head-to-head meetings with the Italian.
"The first match of the tie is always very important and I'm happy to win it and give my side the point that we all needed so much," Chakvetadze said.
"It was so much up and down today and now I feel completely exhausted," she added.
"When it was 3-0 in Francesca's favour in the third set I started to relax a bit more because I had nothing to lose. I helped me a lot, and I managed to get back into my game and finally win the match."
Chakvetadze looked slightly rusty from the start allowing Schiavone to break early for a 2-0 lead. But the Moscow resident soon found her composure and broke back twice to take theng set in 39 minutes.
The pair traded breaks throughout the second set but a more precise Schiavone, currently 25th in the WTA rankings, pulled the scores level at one set all after one hour 25 minutes on court.
The 27-year-old Italian broke early in the deciding set for a comfortable 3-0 lead, but Chakvetadze broke back in the fifth game to level at three games all.
Schiavone lost her nerve in the ninth game, producing a series of unforced errors which allowed Chakvetadze to break again minutes before she won the set and the match.
The clash between world number two Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia and Italy's Mara Santangelo will complete Saturday's schedule.