Live Blog Updates: Fed Cup Final Day One

Thank you for joining On the Baseline for the 2007 Fed Cup by BNP Paribas final!

Anna Chakvetadze and Francesca Schiavone will be kicking off the start of today’s action in the first rubber of the final. The second rubber of the day will be between Svetlana Kuznetsova and Mara Santangelo.

All times listed below are Moscow time.

Check back at 5:00 AM ET tomorrow for the remaining three matches of the 2007 Fed Cup final!

5:50 pm – Russia 6-1, 6-2 – Svetlana Kuznetsova ends the match with an ace up the middle, taking the match 6-1, 6-2. What a dazzling performance! Hugs all around for the champ from the entire squad.

5:47 pm – Russia 6-1, 5-2 – A rare forehand winner by Mara Santangelo gives her a second game, but now its Kuznetsova’s chance to serve out the match for a 2-0 Russian lead.

5:46 pm – Russia 6-1, 5-1 – Kuznetsova cruises to another hold, placing the pressure on Santangelo’s serve to stay in the match.

5:42 pm – Russia 6-1, 4-1 – Kuznetsova snags the double-break and is two games away from a win. Italian captain Corrado Barazzutti has a pained expression on his face, and for good reason. If Santangelo loses this match, Italy goes into a sudden death position tomorrow. The Italians headed into the final as the underdogs, but this is a massacre.

5:34 pm – Russia 6-1, 3-1 – Santangelo managed to win two points on Kuznetsova’s serve, but at the moment, it looks as if Russia is steamrolling to an almost insurmountable 2-0 lead.

5:31 pm – Russia 6-1, 2-1 – Santangelo holds, avoiding a bagel set.

5:25 pm – Russia 6-1, 2-0 – Another easy hold is in the bag for Kuznetsova. If she had played this well last Saturday in Flushing Meadows, we might have seen a different scoreline in the final of the US Open.

5:21 pm – Russia 6-1, 1-0 – Santangelo has no rhythm and can’t seem to keep her shots in the court. Kuznetsova takes the first lead of the second set at 15-40.

Charity Break!
Three-time doubles Grand Slam champion Liezel Huber made a difference in the lives of families affected by the devastating Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Now, two years later, Liezel’s Cause is still hard at work assisting individuals still trying to get back on their feet. Not only has Huber worked with victims of Katrina and Rita, but most recently, her foundation has begun working with those affected by Hurricane Dean in Belize.

You can find more information on Liezel’s Cause, including ways you can help donate, at www.liezelscause.com.

5:18 pm – Russia 6-1 – Kuznetsova scores another easy hold to deliver the first set 6-1 to the Russian team.

5:15 pm – Russia 5-1 – Santangelo’s serve and volley style game is not working for her at all against Kuznetsova today as her serve was broken for the second time.

5:12 pm – Russia 4-1 – Kuznetsova continues to dominate Santangelo and holds another easy service game at love.

5:10 pm – Russia 3-1 – Mara Santangelo is finally on the scoreboard after she winning a tough service game.

5:03 pm – Russia 3-0 – Svetlana Kuznetsova is moving on auto-pilot as she cruises to a 3-0 lead after a hold at love.

5:01 pm – Russia 2-0 – Santangelo blows a 40-15 lead to give Kuznetsova the early break. The last time Mara Santangelo won a Tour match was in the first round of the East West Bank Classic, four tournaments ago.

4:54 pm – Russia 1-0 – Svetlana Kuznetsova holds serve to take the first game of the match at 40-15.

4:47 pm – The players have started warming up and will begin playing soon.

Anna Chavketadze put Russia up 1-0 in the first rubber of the day, and now 2007 US Open finalist Svetlana Kuznetsova will attempt to end day one of action at the Fed Cup final with a victory over Italian Mara Santangelo.

#2 – Svetlana Kuznetsova vs. Mara Santangelo

4:22 pm – Russia wins 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 – Russia’s Anna Chakvetadze converts on her second match point to give Russia a 1-0 lead in the 2007 Fed Cup by BNP Paribas final! Next up is Svetlana Kuznetsova vs. Mara Santangelo.

4:19 pm – Russia 6-4, 4-6, 5-4 – Chakvetadze breaks Schiavone at love! Team Russia is on their feet as Anna Chakvetadze gets a chance to serve for the first rubber.

4:16 pm – Tied 4-6, 6-4, 4-4 – A wild forehand service return off the racquet of Schiavone hands Chakvetadze an easy hold. We’re just over the 2 hour mark.

4:12 pm – Italy 4-6, 6-4, 4-3 – Schiavone holds and it is 4-3 Italy. Time for a change of ends.

4:10 pm – Tied 4-6, 6-4, 3-3 – The crowd is really starting to get into the match, not to mention the person responsible for the trumpet sound effects over the PA system at the end of every point.

4:07 pm – Tied 4-6, 6-4, 3-3 – This match could swing either way at this stage. Chakvetadze holds at 40-30 to tie the first rubber of the final in the third and deciding set.

4:04 pm – Italy 4-6, 6-4, 3-2 – Chakvetadze breaks back and gets on serve! A routine, forehand tap on a Chakvetadze lob lands in the net by Schiavone, giving Russia a chance to level the set.

4:00 pm – Italy 4-6, 6-4, 3-1 – Chakvetadze finally gets on the scoreboard, to the delight of her courtside teammates Maria Sharapova and Nadia Petrova. She is still down a break.

3:55 pm – Italy 4-6, 6-4, 3-0 – Schiavone holds for 3-0. Chakvetadze has to clean up the unforced errors or she will quickly lose this rubber for Russia.

3:49 pm – Italy 4-6, 6-4, 2-0 – Chakvetadze was ready to receive serve at 1-all, when Italy challenged the game point. Hawk-Eye proved the ball, which was called out, was in by a hairline. Schiavone went on to take the lead 2-0.

3:39 pm – Italy 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 – Schiavone opens the first game of the deciding set with a hold at 40-30.

3:33 pm – Russia tied 6-4, 4-6 – With a little help from team captain Corrado Barazzutti and Hawk-Eye, Francesca Schiavone breaks Chakvetadze at love to take the second set 6-4.

3:30 pm – Russia 6-4, 4-5 – A badly timed serve and volley attempt blew Francesca Schiavone’s chance to serve for the second set. That game will haunt her if she winds up losing this rubber. The only question is whether Chakvetadze can close this match out without getting streaky again.

3:26 pm – Russia 6-4, 3-5 – Chakvetadze holds, but Schiavone is up a break serving for the second set.

3:22 pm – Russia 6-4, 2-5 – Schiavone’s backhand is comparable to the likes of Justine Henin and Jelena Jankovic. Too bad she cannot play every Tour match like she plays in Fed Cup. After a long game, Schiavone holds, forcing Chakvetadze to serve to stay in the second set.

3:11 pm – Russia 6-4, 2-4 – Chakvetadze had better watch her on-court demeanour, or chair umpire Alison Lang will be handing out a racquet abuse warning. Schiavone breaks to take a 4-2 lead.

3:06 pm – Russia 6-4, 2-3 – A beautiful dropshot from Schiavone leaves Chakvetadze in the middle of the court, giving Italy a 3-2 lead.

3:03 pm – Russia 6-4, 2-2 – Another solid hold by Chakvetadze levels the match at 2-all. The level of play from both women has increased over the last twenty-minutes.

2:59 pm – Russia 6-4, 1-2 – Italy’s not ready to conceed the first rubber as Schiavone easily holds serve. If she can keep the momentum, this match may go the distance.

2:56 pm – Russia 6-4, 1-1 – Schiavone breaks back at love!

2:54 pm – Russia 6-4, 1-0 – Schiavone blew her chances in the first set, and starts the second set with a loss of serve.

2:49 pm – Russia 6-4 – What are you missing by not having Tennis Channel? Ivan Lendl has a new “perspectives” feature – this one talking about how the WTA Tour needs permanent on-court coaching. No way.

Charity Break!
During the break between the first and second sets of every match, I will be mentioning a charity founded by one of the stars on the WTA Tour. Please take a few moments to visit to her website, read more about how she is making a difference around the world, and consider giving a donation to help support her work.

Most fans know that world No. 1 Justine Henin lost her mother at a young age to cancer. What they do not know is that Henin has formed a foundation, the 20 Hearts Of Justine, to help children who are ill, especially those suffering from cancer.

The foundation provides financial assistance to their families and helps carry out the dreams of the children. One of the foundation’s projects is the hosting of “Therapeutic Holiday Camps”, where the children are able to go on a holiday trip, joined by Justine for a time of fun, relaxation, and rejuvenation.

You can read more about the 20 Hearts of Justine here or find information on how you can participate here.

2:48 pm – Russia 6-4 – Anna Chakvetadze holds serve to take the opening set 6-4.

2:45 pm – Russia 5-4 – Maria Sharapova is courtside, sporting the red and white Russian team jacket.

2:44 pm – Russia 5-4 – Another love hold for Schiavone, and Anna Chakvetadze has a chance to serve for the opening set. You wouldn’t know it by looking at her; her body language is anything but positive right now.

2:41 pm – Russia 5-3 – In the most contested game of the match so far, Chakvetadze battles to save a break point to stay on serve.

2:34 pm – Russia 4-3 – Schiavone saved two break points, but Chakvetadze converted on her third to break Schiavone’s serve for the first time, giving Russia the lead. Now, if she can only hold, she’ll get a chance to serve for the match soon.

2:33 pm – Tied 3-3 – Elena Vesnina is courtside, cheering her teammate Anna Chakvetadze. I have not yet seen the Tour’s most famous practice partner, Maria Sharapova.

2:30 pm – Tied 3-3 – Twenty ranking points separate Chakvetadze from Schiavone, but Francesca is pushing Chakvetadze to keep up. Chakvetadze holds at 30.

2:25 pm – Italy 3-2 – A blistering cross-court winner hands Francesca Schiavone a solid love hold to put Italy back on top.

2:20 pm – Tied 2-2 – Welcome to the Fed Cup world, where a team captain even gets to challenge points. Unfortunately for Italy’s çaptain, Corrado Barazzutti, Hawk-Eye had a momentary blip when it came to judging Chakvetadze’s first serve. Regardless, the Russian finally held serve to level the match.

2:15 pm – Italy 2-1 – Chakvetadze is not the only one trying to deal with the pressure of the moment. Francesca has already hit three double-faults, the last which gave Chakvetade an opportunity to break back at love.

2:12 pm – Italy 2-0 – Chakvetadze is broken at love to give Italy the early lead. Nerves are definitely coming into play.

2:10 pm – Italy 1-0: Schiavone scores the first game for Italy with an easy 40-15 hold. Chakvetadze’s looking a little nervous already, but hopefully, she’ll find her zone quickly and settle down.

2:05 pm: Chakvetadze and Schiavone are on the court, warming up for the start of today’s play.

#1 – Anna Chakvetadze vs. Francesca Schiavone

1:59 pm – Welcome to On the Baseline and thanks for visiting this morning! Aaress Lawless here, and I’ll be your host for the next two days as we eagerly anticipate the crowning of a new Fed Cup champion. Will it be the powerful Russian squad? Or will the Italian team dazzle their way to a thrilling upset victory for a second consecutive year?