Pennetta leads Italy into Fed Cup final

REGGIO CALABRIA, Italy, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- Italian Flavia Pennetta is paired against U.S. player Alexa Glatch in the opening match Saturday of the 2009 Fed Cup finals in Italy.

Pennetta, No. 11 in the world, is the highest ranked player in the field for the best-of-five series but the Italians will also have 16th-ranked Francesca Schiavone playing singles. The United States is countering with Glatch, ranked 132nd, and Melanie Oudin, ranked No. 49 but who grabbed attention with an impressive run at the U.S. Open.

Pennetta and Glatch will kick off the competition, while Schiavone faces Oudin in Saturday's second match.

The opponents switch Sunday with Pennetta playing Oudin and Schiavone meeting Glatch. The fifth match of the series is doubles with the Italian team of Roberta Vinci and Sara Errani playing Americans Liezel Huber and Vania King.

The United States would normally be a strong favorite but that changed when world No. 1 Serena Williams, who had suggested she would play in the Fed Cup final, pulled out last week, citing exhaustion. World No. 6 Venus Williams also bypassed the Fed Cup.

Italy is looking for its second Fed Cup title, having won its first in 2006. The United States owns 17 Fed Cup championships but hasn't won since 2000.