Flavia Pennetta wins U.S. Open to claim her first major title

Flavia Pennetta wins U.S. Open to claim her first major title, Storm clouds were acquisition aerial and the wind was blame up as Flavia Pennetta and Roberta Vinci absolved off the cloister together, accepting played the aboriginal all-Italian women’s final in the history of the United States Open. While they sat in their chairs cat-and-mouse for the bays commemoration to begin, Pennetta leaned over to buzz a abstruse to Vinci, her acquaintance of added than 20 years.

Pennetta, whose achievement had accustomed her, at age 33, her aboriginal above appellation in singles, told Vinci that she was traveling to advertise her approaching retirement.

“What?” Vinci said in Italian, clumsy to accept of why Pennetta would retire if she was arena her best. But afterwards a few seconds, she afflicted her mind.

“Va bene,” Vinci said, acceptation it was all good. “It’s perfect. Go, go.”

So a few account later, Pennetta, a 7-6 (4), 6-2 champ over Vinci, bankrupt her on-court account by absolute addition abruptness in a clash abounding of them: Afterwards the anniversary tournaments in Asia, Pennetta’s continued career will be over.

The admirers at Arthur Ashe Stadium, abounding of whom had bought tickets assured to see a Admirable Slam completed, instead saw a admirable amateur go out as a first-time champion.

“This was the absolute moment, I think,” Pennetta said. “Was a absolutely harder accommodation to make, but I’m absolutely blessed that I did it. I’m absolutely blessed and appreciative of myself.”

One of the added agreeable personalities on the WTA Tour, the 26th-seeded Pennetta said she acquainted that she was accident her aggressive blaze and that afterwards it, it would not be advantageous to abide playing.

Pennetta about withdrew from the French Open in May, she said, and again fabricated the final accommodation a ages ago in Toronto afterwards a abundant accord of thought: No amount what happened in New York, this would be her endure U.S. Open.

Sitting in the stands, nervously chomping on his fingernails throughout the match, was the Italian amateur Fabio Fognini, Pennetta’s fiancé, who produced an aboriginal abruptness at the Open by acquisition Rafael Nadal in the third round. (He flew home to Italy afterwards he absent in the next annular but alternate for the women’s final.)There were added abruptness after-effects forth the way, with top players like Andy Murray, Ana Ivanovic and Caroline Wozniacki accident afore the quarterfinals. It was unexpected, too, if a bombinate flew about 30 anxiety over Pennetta’s arch at Louis Armstrong Stadium and comatose into abandoned seats, causing a abbreviate adjournment in her second-round match.

It was hasty if Pennetta calmly exhausted No. 2 Simona Halep on Friday and abominable when, a few hours later, Vinci, an dormant 32-year-old ranked 43rd, defeated No. 1 Serena Williams, who had won the aboriginal three majors of the year.

Those victories resulted in the aboriginal berths in a above singles final for both Pennetta and Vinci and set up the aboriginal U.S. Open women’s final afterwards a top-20 amateur back the WTA began application computer rankings in 1975.

This was aswell the aboriginal above singles final to affection two Italians in the Open era — an accident so big that the prime abbot of Italy, Matteo Renzi, flew to New York (with Fognini on board) to see it live.

“It’s a abundant acquaintance for Italian sport,” Renzi said afterwards greeting both players. “But decidedly in this moment, the acquaintance of Roberta and Flavia is the acquaintance of abundant women who abide with pride, with able approach, not alone for tennis but for the life. Two girls from the south of Italy accord a abundant bulletin to every Italian.”

Pennetta, from Brindisi, and Vinci, from Taranto, aboriginal played anniversary added at Pennetta’s home club if they were 10 and 9. Later, they confused to Rome to accept in the Italian tennis federation’s development affairs and lived calm as attached for four years, Pennetta said.

Pennetta had a simple description of Vinci as a roommate: “perfect,” a chat that the two women acclimated abounding times, with Vinci as blessed as anyone for Pennetta.They accept played calm in doubles and on the Italian Fed Cup aggregation and are as abutting as any two players on tour. That accord added to what Vinci alleged a alternation of miracles that fabricated Saturday happen.

“I exhausted Serena, aboriginal miracle,” she said. “And again two Italians can ability a Admirable Slam final: two, a miracle.”

The final phenomenon was that just weeks afterwards chief this would be her final year of tennis, her acquaintance won her aboriginal above appellation in 49 tries (dating to the 2003 Australian Open).

Pennetta has absolutely enjoyed her 18 years on tour, but she aswell said that her profession had appropriate a atypical focus, at the amount of missing added things in life.

Winning the U.S. Open was absolutely a payoff.You lose so abounding things if you are young,” she said. “With this, acceptable today, my activity is perfect. I cannot say something different. Perfect.”

Pennetta said the alone humans she had told of her accommodation to retire were her ancestors members, her coaches and trainers, and Fognini, who joked that he did not wish her to stop playing.But it is her decision,” he said.

Salvador Navarro, Pennetta’s coach, said that she would apparently play in one or two season-ending tournaments in Asia in October but that that would be it. Navarro admired the accommodation and did not try to allocution her out of retiring, he said. But he did appeal one thing.

“I told her, ‘If you are traveling to do this, again you have to acquaint the people,’ ” he said — a chat that led her to accomplish the advertisement on court.

In that accent afterwards her victory, Pennetta thanked Vinci and the admirers and again said she had one added affair to say.

“This is my endure bout at the U.S. Open,” she told the afraid fans, “and I couldn’t anticipate of a bigger way.”

Pennetta, the oldest first-time above best in the Open era, is not the aboriginal tennis brilliant to retire anon afterwards a abundant triumph. Steffi Graf appear not continued afterwards acceptable at Roland Garros in 1999 that that would be her final French Open. Pete Sampras about retired afterwards he won the 2002 U.S. Open, and Marion Bartoli retired anon afterwards acceptable Wimbledon in 2013.Pennetta said she had no abstraction what she would do afterwards her matches this fall. And she seemed accomplished with that.

“Sometimes we are afraid to yield the accommodation because we don’t apperceive what we like or what we are traveling to do after, how activity is traveling to be,” she said. “But I anticipate it’s traveling to be a appealing acceptable life.”
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