Just before the storm started, the first women’s match of the second week at the US Open had finished. Italian tenth seed Roberta Vinci eliminated her 136th-ranked compatriot Camila Giorgi in the fourth round.
In the first set Giorgi was leading by a break, 4-2, but then she just couldn’t keep up and it looked like she couldn’t concentrate, which the experienced eight years older Vinci managed to exploit. Vinci had won seven straight games until young Giorgi found her game again and broke for 1-2 in the second set. Sadly, Giorgi played poorly in the second set and it looked like the match would soon be over. She only took one more game from Vinci and their match ended in straight sets 6-4 6-2 in 67 minutes, just a few minutes before the rain started to pour.
This was the first career meeting of Vinci and Giorgi and the furthest Giorgi has gone at the US Open, having lost in the first round of her one and only previous appearance at the tournament in 2012. That year Vinci also pushed through to the quarterfinals and lost to Sara Errani. We’ll see if she will be able to make better results this year and move into the semifinals. Her next opponent will be either seed No.21 Simona Halep or fellow Italian Flavia Pennetta. (photo: © Neal Trousdale)