Nobody had seen it coming--an all-Italian US Open women's singles final--but Roberta Vinci and Flavia Pennetta deserved their spots in the title decider and it was the latter who emerged triumphant 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York to win her maiden grand slam trophy.
Pennetta announced that it was her last grand slam, as she will retire from the sport at the end of the season.
Coming to the match, Pennetta and Vinci came up with some high quality tennis in the first set, where both the Italians put their best feet forward, leading to a close finish. As the game progressed, Pennetta showed her class and dominated the second set to clinch the US Open women's singles title.
"I mean, the first set was a little bit of drama. Both of us were starting really tight from the beginning. I mean, was not easy to play today with one of your best friends in the tour, with one you know since long time. A lot of emotion coming together since yesterday. It's not easy to handle everything. But I'm really happy, because the first set was really tough. In the second one I started to play a little bit better, so I'm really proud of everything this week," said Pennetta.
Vinci, who had defeated Serena Williams en route to the final, must have been confident, but Pennetta proved to be too hot to handle for the fellow Italian. Both of them have been a long time friends, so it was not an easy outing to play against one another for the prestigious US Open women's title.
"No. Is tough to play against one friend. I know Flavia for long time, so it's difficult, especially mentally, mental. Was difficult for both, I think. Not only for me," said Vinci, who has not thought about retirement as she still has a passion for tennis.
However, many were left surprised when Pennetta, 33, decided to retire from the sport at the end of the season, especially when she is playing some great tennis.
When asked why she is retiring, she said : "Ah, why? Because sometimes it's getting hard for me to compete. This is the important point. When you are in the court, when you have to play 24 weeks in the year, you have to fight every week. And if you don't fight every week in the same way I did today, it's gonna be like bad. For me, also."
"And I don't feel to have this power anymore sometimes. So this is the perfect moment, I think. Was a really hard decision to make, but I'm really happy that I did it. I'm really happy and proud of myself," she added.
The world will always remember her for her last grand slam result, as a US Open champion.
