Pennetta signs off in winning style

NEW YORK — After winning her first Grand Slam title at 33, while seeded 26th, by beating the woman who beat Serena Williams, Flavia Pennetta (picture) provided this US Open full of surprises with one last twist.

After meeting opponent Roberta Vinci at the net for a long hug — both from Italy’s Puglia, they were childhood friends, then doubles partners and roommates as teens — Pennetta let Vinci in on a little secret that would soon be shared with the world.

Pennetta decided about a month ago that she would retire after this season, and this would be her last appearance at Flushing Meadows.

Talk about going out on top.

In one of the unlikeliest Major finals in women’s tennis history, Pennetta beat Vinci 7-6, 6-2 on Saturday, then revealed during the trophy ceremony she is ready to hang up her racket. “This is how I say goodbye to tennis,” said Pennetta as her fiance, tennis player Fabio Fognini, captured the scene with his phone’s camera. “I couldn’t think to finish in a better way.”

Later, Pennetta clarified that she plans to enter two tournaments in China in the next month, and the season-ending WTA Finals in Singapore, if she qualifies. But she definitely will not be back at the US Open.

“Why? Because sometimes it’s getting hard for me to compete ... If you don’t fight every week in the same way I did today, it’s going to be, like bad. And I don’t have ... this power anymore, sometimes,” said Pennetta. “I mean, with this — winning today — my life is perfect.”

She is the oldest woman in the Open era, which began in 1968, to become a Grand Slam champion for the first time. Vinci, who is 32, would have earned that distinction had she been able to follow her stunning upset of Williams in Friday’s semi-finals with another victory.

Shocking as the timing of Pennetta’s announcement was Vinci’s win against world No 1 Williams. That stopped Williams’ 33-match winning streak in Majors and her attempt to become the first player since Steffi Graf in 1988 to win all four Grand Slam tournaments in a single season.

Vinci said the mental and physical exhaustion from that momentous triumph affected her Saturday.

“This morning, I woke up and thought, ‘What did I do yesterday?’” said Vinci. “Poor thing, (Williams) fought for the Grand Slam, and I stole her dream. When I went to bed last night, I thought: ‘I wonder how Serena feels.’ Because she deserved it. I don’t mean that match — she deserved to win all four Slams.”

Vinci charmed the crowd after beating Williams and again after losing to Pennetta, saying she wanted the champion’s trophy, not the one for the runner-up, then pretending to steal the US$3.3 million (S$4.7 million) cheque. “We know each other since forever,” said Pennetta. “We spend so much time together, we could write a book about our lives.”

Quite a chapter Saturday would provide. Rain fell in the second set, then turned into a downpour after the match. The players sought shelter in the tournament referee’s office, where they posed for pictures with Italian Premier Matteo Renzi, who said he was “proud of their determination and their tenacity”.

The Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd — some had paid top dollar for tickets, in anticipation of seeing Williams take aim at history — was rather quiet, especially in the opening set. Perhaps it was difficult to decide which relatively unknown woman to cheer for.

Now, though, Pennetta will forever be known as a Grand Slam champion, no matter how many more matches she plays. AP