US Open Tennis 2015 Women's Final: TV Schedule, Start Time and Live Stream Info
There will be no calendar-year Grand Slam for Serena Williams.
The No. 1 seed, thought to be nearly unbeatable, struggled badly in the semifinal round of the U.S. Open, and she dropped a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 decision to Roberta Vinci of Italy.
The unseeded Vinci played with poise and creativity in drawing Serena in close with her drop shots and she changed pace consistently throughout the match.
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As Vinci seemed to loosen up, Serena tightened up and she did not have her usual movement on the court. Her footwork seemed much slower than usual, and she seemed a half-step behind when chasing Vinci's shots.
"BREAKING NEWS: Serena Williams loses in US Open semifinals to unseeded Roberta Vinci http://t.co/ZCwe3oy1mG
— Fox News Alert (@foxnewsalert) September 11, 2015"
While Williams congratulated her opponent and left the court quickly, Vinci was beside herself as she realized she had beaten the top player in the world and had earned a spot in the championship round.
| Flavia Pennetta (26) | Roberta Vinci | Arthur Ashe | 3 p.m. | ESPN | ESPNe |
"Today was my day," Vinci told ESPN's Tom Rinaldi. "It is the greatest day of my life. I am sorry."
The apology was to the fans and to Serena, for beating an American player and ending the quest of the Grand Slam.
Vinci will play countrywoman Flavia Pennetta, who also registered an upset in her semifinal match. Pennetta, the No. 26 seed in the tournament, routed No. 2 seed Simona Halep 6-1, 6-3. Pennetta, much like Vinci, moved well throughout her match and simply put the ball in places that Halep could not reach.
Vinci and Pennetta will meet in the championship round Saturday at 3 p.m. ET at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Vinci will be playing for the first singles title victory of the year. Prior to the start of the U.S. Open, she had a 21-20 match record, but she had put together a memorable run even before she registered her upset of Serena.
Vinci defeated Vania King, Denisa Allertova and Mariana Duque Marino in the first three rounds before she received a somewhat lucky break when she had a walkover after Canadian Eugenie Bouchard could not play in the fourth round after suffering a concussion.
She then beat Kristina Mladenovic in the quarterfinals before taking on and beating Williams.
Pennetta defeated Jarmila Gajdosova, Monica Niculescu and Petra Cetkovska in the first three rounds before beating 22nd-seeded Samantha Stosur in the fourth round and fifth-seeded Petra Kvitova in the quarterfinals.
Kvitova won the first set before the relentless Pennetta pulled off a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory.
Pennetta and Vinci know each other well because they have been playing together on the Italian Davis Cup team for years.
Pennetta is the harder hitter of the two, and she leads the all-time series 5-4. Pennetta defeated Vinci in the 2013 quarterfinal round of the U.S. Open, 6-4, 6-1.
While that match will be a great moment for the two participants and for Italian tennis fans, it will likely be seen as anticlimax by the majority of fans who were anticipating Serena completing her calendar-year Grand Slam.
"Roberta Vinci gained a ton of fans with her awesome interview (via @MattNorlander): http://t.co/HntTkqyzfc https://t.co/oNsEqn6OMf
— SB Nation (@SBNation) September 11, 2015"
That seemed like it was going to happen at the conclusion of the first set. While Vinci had an early break in the set, Serena quickly got it back and dominated the rest of the set.
But the second set belonged to Vinci. She attacked every short ball, and she made Serena run from side to side as much as possible. Serena seemed to tire as the second set wore on.
Serena had faced three-set matches at the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, but she always found a way to dig deep and win them prior to facing Vinci.
Serena had most recently won a three-set match against her sister Venus Williams in the quarterfinals Tuesday night, but that ability escaped her against Vinci.
"#USOpen: A huge upset as unseeded @RobertaVinci beats top seed @serenawilliams to end her year Grand Slam hopes! pic.twitter.com/zMMk3n9dmN
— SPORT CONVO (@sportconvo) September 11, 2015"
She gave credit to Vinci for coming through in such an important match. "I thought she played the best match of her life," Williams said in a press conference televised by ESPN. "She is 33 years old (actually 32) and she went for it, and she played completely out of her head."
However, Williams would not answer any questions about her disappointment at not completing the calendar-year Grand Slam. "I will answer any question except about that subject," she said.
Williams said she didn't feel pressure, but her play belied that answer. She struggled against Vinci's variety of shots, and it seemed the pressure of the moment and her opponent's outstanding play got to her.
Vinci denied Williams the calendar-year Grand Slam that would have allowed her to join Steffi Graf, who completed her calendar-year Grand Slam in 1988.
However, Vinci (a plus-1,200 underdog according to Odds Shark) would not let her have it and came up with one of the greatest upsets in the sport's history.
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