Tag: Tennis

Can Italy do it?

July 24, 2012

Francescsa Schiavone is representing Italy in the Olympics as London 2012 finally starts to get in it’s stride. As proud Italians, we’re keen to see where else we can excel – it may well be that we are all celebrating with Francesca and her Olympic team-mates when the runners come around the final bend of the 800m…

Women’s 800m

Janeth Jepkosgei may no longer have it in her legs to sustain her bold front-running style that won her the 2007 world title, while young Kenyan pretender Winny Chebet has much work to do if she is to translate her Nairobi high altitude form to the chill of Europe at sea level.

Pamela Jelimo, the Olympic champion and world indoor champion, dominates the rankings with her 1min 56.76sec clocking in earlier this month, which she backs up with the 1:58.48 that she ran to win the Kenyan title from Chebet and Jepkosgei. Continue 

Schiavone Demands Rain Explanation

July 19, 2012

Italian tennis star Francesca Schiavone has demanded an explanation from the authorities of Wimbledon regarding the rain rules that were employed for the tournament this year, following an extremely stand-off on court that effectively handed victory to her opponent Petra Kvitova and a place in the quarter finals of the tournament.

The Italian, a former winner of the French Open at Roland Garros has blasted the way the chair umpire handled the match that took place on court number 3 of the All England Club, adding that the match should have been stopped when the rain hit.

The 32 year old Schiavone had taken advantage of some wayward stroke play from Kvitova to claim the first set quite comfortably. However, with the match poised at 6-5 in favor of Kvitova and struck at deuce on the serve of the big hitting Italian, she requested the match umpire to stop the match temporarily. Continue 

SCHIAVONE AIMING HIGH

February 14, 2012

Italy have reached the semi final stages of the Fed Cup after star player Flavia Pennetta recovered from a sore back to team up with Roberta Vinci to take the doubles match against the Ukraine and win the tie with a 3-2 margin.

But most of the credit for this win has gone to veteran tennis star Francesca Schiavone who made a strong statement of her intentions this year with a strong display against Kateryna Bondarenko, whom she beat in three sets after falling behind very early in the match.

Schiavone won her match 6-7 (6), 7-5, 6-4 to give the Italians a 2-1 lead in the tie before Ukraine pulled it back to 2-2 and the rest was left with Pennetta and Vinci, which they did quite convincingly. Schiavone, who has been the champion at Roland Garros, the French Open in 2010 and reached the final again last year before losing out to Na Li fell behind very early in the game and almost down and out in the first set, Francesca Schiavone made a strong comeback to take the set to a tie break where she lost 8-6.

She was also down 5-1 in the second set before rallying back to win the set 7-5 and take the match into a tie breaking third set, which she won pretty convincingly with a 6-4 margin. Schiavone has not been in the best of forms over the last year or so and the final of the French Open was her best result but this year, she is already showing signs that she has another Grand Slam in her before she retires.

Francesca Schiavone, at 31 years of age, has served the Italian team over the last 10 or so years and Pennetta and the others want to send her out on a high with a Fed Cup title win.