Italy leads Spain, Russia heads China in Fed Cup

Flavia Pennetta saved a match point and beat former No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo as Italy took a 2-0 lead over France in the Fed Cup on Saturday.

In other World Group ties, defending champion Russia led China 2-0, Spain and the Czech Republic were at 1-1, and the United States was also tied with Argentina.

Pennetta beat Mauresmo 2-6, 7-6 (7), 6-4 but hit a passing shot wide to give the Frenchwoman a match point in the tiebreaker at Orleans. The Italian contested the decision and received a warning for verbal abuse. She risked losing the match on a penalty point when she directed a gesture at the chair umpire.

"That behavior is shameful and …