Italy stormed into a 2-0 lead over the United States in the Fed Cup final when Francesca Schiavone outfoxed Melanie Oudin 7-6, 6-2 yesterday. World number 11 Flavia Pennetta had earlier overpowered Alexa Glatch 6-3, 6-1 to give the hosts a strong start. Schiavone triumphed after being down 4-2 in the first set when rain forced a two-hour delay. Oudin is the top-ranked U.S. player on the team at 49, after Serena and Venus Williams decided not to compete. "Even at 4-2 in the first set there wasn't that big a difference between us, it was very balanced," Schiavone said at a news conference. "Afterwards she made a couple of mistakes and I quickly took advantage and that's through my experience." Italy need to win just one more match to seal their second Fed Cup title, while the U.S. team is seeking an 18th crown. Rain is forecast in south Italy today, when the reverse singles and doubles take place. Pennetta meets Oudin first. Organizers have the option of extending play until Monday if the tie is not completed. (Reuters)
Former Maccabi Netanya coach Lothar Matthaus says Germans should be ashamed of the way they're treating him and of denying him a coaching job in the country. The 1990 World Cup-winning captain Matthaus, 48, told the Frankfurter Allgemeine in an interview made available ahead of today's publication that he deserves more respect as a soccer icon in his native Germany. "I am certainly the second best known German football personality around the world, after Franz Beckenbauer. Germany must be ashamed of how it treats such an idol," said Matthaus. Matthaus is Germany's record-capped player with 150 matches highlighted by the World Cup title 19 years ago. He has coached in Austria, Hungary, Israel and other countries, but is yet to get a job at home. He said he was close to signing contracts at Nuremberg and Eintracht Frankfurt, but that "the fans reject me, because of my past at Bayern Munich." He is currently without a job and was last linked with Argentina's Racing Club. (DPA)
Swine flu has forced the Spanish basketball league to postpone a game for the second time this season. The league said yesterday that four players on the Bizkaia Bilbao Basket team were diagnosed with the H1N1 virus and several others were showing symptoms. The club was to have played Lagun Aro GBC today. The game has not yet been rescheduled. Last month, a league game was called off when at least seven players from one team were diagnosed with swine flu. (AP)
