Fed Cup: Cornet crumbles and France crash out
French hopes of another Fed Cup success ended in tears (literally) when they were hammered 5-0 by Italy in their World Group first round tie in Orleans on Sunday.
It was a Fed Cup tie that had everything (apart from a French victory, that is) a middle-finger gesture from Italian No.1 Flavia Pennetta, claims by Amelie Mauresmo that the Italian should have been kicked out of the tie and an on-court emotional breakdown from Alize Cornet.
With former No.1 Mauresmo and world No.13 Cornet among their ranks, many would have fancied the French to come out on top.
But it didnt take long for the wheels come off the French challenge. Mauresmo let a second set match point and a 4-1 third-set lead slip away as she slumped to a 2-6, 7-6, 6-4 defeat to Pennetta in a bad-tempered opening match on Saturday.
During the tie-break Pennetta appeared to flick a middle-fingered
- Join the tennishead CLUB and receive £250/$350 of FREE GEAR including ASICS Gel-Resolution 8 trainers, shorts, shirt & socks
- Keep up to date with the breaking news & tennis action at our tennis news section
- Win amazing prizes by entering our competitions
- Learn more about your favourite players including Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic
- Check out the latest tennis equipment with our tennis gear reviews
- Receive regular updates in our legendary free newsletter
- Read in depth features with stunning photography in tennishead magazine
- Can’t visit the tournaments you love? Check out our guide on how to watch tennis on TV
- Don’t miss a thing with our Live Scores service
- Follow tennishead on social media at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & YouTube
- EXCLUSIVE 5% DISCOUNT for all tennishead readers on tennis rackets, balls, clothing, shoes & accessories with All Things Tennis, our dedicated tennis gear partner