Playing her first Grand Slam semifinal, Roberta Vinci recorded a spectacular victory over world No.1 Serena Williams, pretty much the undefeatable queen of women’s tennis, and destroyed her chance of adding the Calendar Slam to her bio.
Serena Williams won the last four Grand Slams, but she needed the 2015 US Open to complete a Calendar Slam for the first time in her career, which is one of the rare feats she’s yet to achieve, The 32-year-old Vinci stunned the tennis world, stopped the unstoppable American, in New York, and after the match uncontrollably shook from excitement, apologizing to American crowd after calming down a bit.
Amazingly, we will now have an all-Italian final, as Flavia Pennetta upset world No.2 Simona Halep in the preceding semi.
In the first set Serena was down an early break, but then won five games in a row for 6-2. From 0-40 in the beginning of the second set, Serena managed to hold serve, but then Vinci broke it in the fifth game of the set, winning three straight games for a 4-2 lead, and eventually won the set 6-4.
Serena started the decider with a 2-0 lead, but Vinci leveled to 2-all immediately. The crucial moment happened at 3-3, when Vinci won one super exciting point, pounded her chest in celebration, and in the next point, helped by Serena’s error, Vinci earned a break point, which she successfully converted. The Italian firmly grasped that lead, saved all the break points that she faced in the following game and earned the biggest win of her career, which is also historic for women’s tennis. Final score: 2-6 6-4 6-4. Bravo!
If it’s of any consolation for Serena, she has this adorable fan 🙂
I still can’t believe this happened :O
A whole-iitalian final – who would have expected that?? Surely not Matt Cronin, the guy with “the Daily picks” on the UsOpen web site. He is almost always wrong – but still, very convinced :-). Real fun to read the “picks” one day later! 🙂
Congratulation to Roberta Vinci. However, the moment Drake was shown on television, it seems quite obvious Serena was not serious about winning today. I believe she has a right to associate with whomever she desires. However, if she had a goal in mind, it should have been most important to her. She asked Drake previously not to come to her matches based on her last loss. Yet today, he’s there. So again Congratulations to Roberta Vinci.
Congratulation to Roberta and Flavia! Marija can you find video – Italian fed cup team dance in some TV show after they won FED Cup?
Both Halep and Serena didn’t play their best tennis. Halep looks tired while Serena seems out of sort. But still congratulation to this two Italians. They deserve this as well:)
Congrats to Roberta Vinci! From what I saw, she didn’t outplay Serena, Serena outplayed herself. She seemed quite overweight and out of breath. Looks like she actually gained a couple of pounds after having played Venus just the other day. She really should not have lost this match at all and I was shocked at how she blundered repeatedly when she and Vinci were tied at 3-3 in the third set. Anyone in their right mind knows that whenever Serena loses a match, she’s injured in some way. I really felt something was wrong with her feet when she played Venus, but that wasn’t mentioned until Vinci beat her and she was shown situating the tape. Regardless of her loss, she is still in my opinion the very best female tennis player of all time. She may not have the so-called calendar slam to add to her resume, but she has what most in the game can’t equal or surpass. The fact remains that none of the ladies playing professionally today will ever match or catch what she has accomplished; they can only dream about it. “Serena, go get some much needed rest. Always believe in yourself and know you’re still a great champion! Sorry for your loss, but it’s not the end of the world. Number 22 is just around the corner, no doubt.”
The little girl ranting over Serena Williams in the posted video is too cute! I don’t know how old she is, but she obviously is very precocious, exceptional, and charismatic. How adorable! This innocent, adoring fan of Serena is even more reason why Serena must be very careful of her on-court conduct. And, I agree with Vikki concerning Drake being in attendance at the semi-final. I never knew anything about Serena asking him not to come to her matches due to a previous loss. If he’s such a true friend and she did request this of him, why in the world wouldn’t he honor her request to ensure she would not lose her focus and ultimately lose the match? Makes no sense to me! Serena needs to ditch the controversial celebrities that she’s trying so hard to fit in with. Just the other day, photos were posted online of her having tea with Kim Kardashian, which I couldn’t believe since she had just advanced to the semi-final. Would have done her more good than harm to rest up and stay focused on making it to the overall finish line. I’m sure all of America will be in shock for a long time over this so unnecessary loss on her part. Yeah, Serena is only human, but she has no one to blame for this loss but herself. “Drop Drake as a so-called friend, Serena, and focus on your tennis again!”
In addition, Roberta Vinci did ask the public for prayers, didn’t she? Well, prayers answered, Vinci! Praise God! Congrats to the two Italians now making some history of their own!
I have the highest respect for Serena as one of the best female tennis players ever (the best?), and I am pretty sure that Halep will win some GS in the future. But still, I find this all-Italian final AMAZING and the final proof of tennis still being alive! How wonderful that such “unpredictable” things still happen! And of course, nobody is 100% fit ever, there is always some pain and minor injury at this level but that is how it is. If someone appears to play badly, it could be that the other player MAKES HER play badly – nothing wrong with that, that is a part of the beauty of the play.
So shocked with this result. Feel really bad for Serena, but am happy for Vinci. Loved Roberta’s honest and open post match interview with ESPN’s Tom Rinaldi where she said when she woke up the morning of the match, she did not expect to win. Pennetta or Vinci will be a first time Grand Slam winner..good luck to them both. Wonder in Fabio will be in Pennetta’s box?
The previous time Serena lost a GS final was in 2011, when she had to play the semifinal and final back-to-back, just like it was the case this year.
And yes, I read somewhere, in some credible paper, that Drake is kind of blamed for Serena’s loss. Has Serena commented on his attendance after the match?
Maja J, hm, I can’t find that Fed Cup video now. I think I had seen it somewhere on Facebook, but who knows where it was.
I felt so bad for Serena. I really wanted her to win her 22nd GS, but I really do believe things happen for a reason. Pennetta announced her retirement so maybe it was meant to happen this way. Just like Marion Bartoli who her only GS retired. God know Serena probably will not be retiring no time soon, so I do believe that she will her at least 24 GS’s. Best to yo Pennetta.
Yeah, Serena will definitely get to 22 Grand Slams, no doubt. I don’t even doubt she may even get that Calendar Grand Slam after all, before retirement; one should never count her out, considering her superior tennis skills and domination. Congrats to Flavia Pennetta! I thoroughly enjoyed Vinci’s on-court wackiness after the match. Too cute! Love her quirky personality!
If Serena’s oustanding Career Slam had to be sacrificed, at least Flavia made it worthwhile, like really worthwhile. Pennetta made one of the greatest moments of WTA history and further reinforced it by unexpectedly announcing retirement during her trophy speech.
@theRealDeal “whenever Serena loses a match, she’s injured in some way.” Are you serious? I mean i agree that she is the best of all time, but this comment is just a huge disrespect to her opponents that have beaten her.
This match was an exciting moment for Roberta Vinci. She has been working on her tennis game for 26 years and has grown into an amazing player. I believe this is going to be the start of a successful career. However, I do not believe that she has crushed Serena’s dreams. Serena Williams is a strong player who has a lot of experience and won’t give up even if defeated.