Italy's Flavia Pennetta begged Australia's Rennae Stubbs not to retire from tennis as the pair stimulated around Melbourne Park for the past two weeks of the Australian Open, But Stubbs had the great comeback for Italy's world No 25 singles player and world No 2 in doubles."I said to Flavia, 'You can continue my career by losing to us'," Stubbs said yesterday, as the Australian and Italian women headed to Hobart for the first round of the Fed Cup's elite World Group. Stubbs was given exciting farewells on centre court in both Sydney and Melbourne by the WTA. She turns 40 in March and is finally stepping away from the professional tour after 22 years.
But when she took the microphone on both Ken Rosewall and Rod Laver Arenas she told the respective crowds she would keep playing Fed Cup as long as Australia kept winning. Australia is finally back in the World Group after seven years in the zonal wilderness."If we win I'd like to keep playing until the next tie," Stubbs said yesterday. "I just want to be part of it. It took us that long to get back to the World Group and I've been part of that journey. So if we were to win, it would give me some kind of inspiration to keep going."
Fed Cup supremacy is also in the mind of newly crowned Australian Open champion Kim Clijsters. Belgium is also back in the World Group and Clijsters was on a plane home less than 24 hours after building her winning speech. Belgium has drawn the United States in its first round tie to be played in Antwerp. It will be the sixth time Australia and Italy have met in a tie. Australia leads 5-0 in head-to-head encounters. But the last victory was in 1988 when Wendy Turnbull was still part of the squad.
Italy has progress noticeably since then and contested four of the last five Fed Cup finals and was crowned champion in 2006, 2009 and 2010.All of the Italian team is ranked in the top 50 in singles. Australia only has two of its four there with Sam Stosur, No 5, and Jarmila Groth on debut at No 34.Stubbs will line up with Stosur in doubles. The pair has eight grand slam doubles titles between them. World No 67 and Common wealth Games gold medallist, Anastasia Rodioniova, completes the team.
But when she took the microphone on both Ken Rosewall and Rod Laver Arenas she told the respective crowds she would keep playing Fed Cup as long as Australia kept winning. Australia is finally back in the World Group after seven years in the zonal wilderness."If we win I'd like to keep playing until the next tie," Stubbs said yesterday. "I just want to be part of it. It took us that long to get back to the World Group and I've been part of that journey. So if we were to win, it would give me some kind of inspiration to keep going."
Fed Cup supremacy is also in the mind of newly crowned Australian Open champion Kim Clijsters. Belgium is also back in the World Group and Clijsters was on a plane home less than 24 hours after building her winning speech. Belgium has drawn the United States in its first round tie to be played in Antwerp. It will be the sixth time Australia and Italy have met in a tie. Australia leads 5-0 in head-to-head encounters. But the last victory was in 1988 when Wendy Turnbull was still part of the squad.
Italy has progress noticeably since then and contested four of the last five Fed Cup finals and was crowned champion in 2006, 2009 and 2010.All of the Italian team is ranked in the top 50 in singles. Australia only has two of its four there with Sam Stosur, No 5, and Jarmila Groth on debut at No 34.Stubbs will line up with Stosur in doubles. The pair has eight grand slam doubles titles between them. World No 67 and Common wealth Games gold medallist, Anastasia Rodioniova, completes the team.
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