Flavia Pennetta vs. Roberta Vinci: The Unexpected Final

As the world of tennis recovers from one of the greatest shocks in the modern era, two Italian tennis players are making the final preparations for their maiden Grand Slam final. Roberta Vinci’s sensational triumph over Serena Williams has elevated the 32-year-old to the limelight of the world’s media. Vinci became the first player since the 2014 Wimbledon Championships to beat Serena Williams in a Grand Slam which also ended the world number one’s bid to become the first player in 27 years to win all four Grand Slams within the same year. Awaiting her in the final is follow countrywoman Flavia Pennetta. Pennetta dismantled world number 2 Simona Halep in straight sets in her semi-final match. The final will be the first all Italian encounter in the history of Grand Slam tennis.

Vinci has spent 9 hours and 25 minutes on the court during her route to the final with the world number 43 coming through four three set matches. Williams was the only seeded player that the Italian has played in the first six rounds. The Italian was also scheduled to play 25th seed Eugenie Bouchard in round four, but the Canadian withdrew due to a concussion. Prior to her her Serena triumph, Vinci defeated Vania King, Denisa Allertova, Mariana Duque-Marino and Kristina Mladenovic to reach her first Grand Slam semi-final.

Meanwhile Pennetta’s route to the final has involved a trio of wins over seeded players. Despite playing one additional match compared to Vinci (due to Vinci having a 4th round walkover), the world number 26 has spent less time on the court at 8 hours and 55 minutes. Prior to her straight sets dismissal of Halep, Pennetta also knocked out two former Grand Slam champions, Sam Stosur and Petra Kvitova. In her earlier rounds she also defeated Jarmila Gajdosova, Monica Niculescu and Petra Cetkovska.

The final will be between two players who are very familiar with each other’s games. They have known each other since their younger years and used to play doubles together. In 1999 they took the French Open Girls doubles title. There are similarities between both players playing style, but one difference is that Pennetta has a two-handed backhand compared to Vinci who uses one hand. It is for this reason as to why the pair has a close head-to-head with Pennetta narrowly leading 5-4. Despite this they have only played each other twice since 2010. Their most recent encounter was in the quarter-finals of the 2013 US Open. On that occasion Pennetta cruised to a 6-4, 6-1 victory.

Flavia Pennetta vs Roberta Vinci – Us Open 2013… by livetennisit

Following Vinci’s sensational win against the world number 1 on Saturday. The 32-year-old acknowledged in her after match press conference that both players will be under a lot of pressure.

“It will be a tough match for both of us tomorrow. I think a lot of pressure because we know each other for a long time”. She said.
“I played against her three or four years ago and I lost on the center court. I remember that I was completely scared, like a little bit blocked. I didn’t play well in that case”.

Going into the match Pennetta will be the slight favourite despite Vinci knocking out the top seed. Apart from spending less time on the court’s in New York, Pennetta is ranked higher and has a premier mandatory title to her name, Indian Wells 2014. This year is also her fourth US Open quarterfinals since 2011. Nevertheless Vinci is not unfamiliar to Grand Slam success. In the doubles, she has spent 110 weeks as the world number 1, claiming 5 Grand Slam titles including the 2012 US Open.

Before the start of this year’s tournament Pennetta was 200-1 to take the title whilst Vinci didn’t even have an odd. Their run to the final has been one of the most unpredictable in the modern era as they rewrite the history of Italian tennis. The encounter might be as unpredictable as both players journey to the final, but the potential quality in the final will be no less than if Serena Williams was gracing her presence. It is for this reason why the women’s final will be one of the most intriguing encounters in recent years.

Career in numbers