Down Goes Serena!
11 Sep, 2015
In dramatic fashion, Serena Williams’ quest for the Grand Slam is over.
At the hands of Italian Roberta Vinci, the world No. 43 and a major semifinalist for the first time at the age of 32, the American was stopped two matches short of making history in tennis for the first time since 1988.
Williams, plagued by errors, came unraveled against Vinci, whom she hadn’t lost to in four previous encounters. Vinci won 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 before a shocked Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd.
Vinci earns a trip to the U.S.Open final, where she will play another Italian, Flavia Pennetta, the world No. 26, on Saturday afternoon. Pennetta upset second seed Simona Halep in the earlier semifinal.
They were scenes never quite seen inside Arthur Ashe, as fans tried to will the world No. 1 to victory, Serena barking out “Come on!” and clenching her fist as the crowd roared behind her.
But it was to little success. After taking a 2-0 lead in the deciding set Williams produced a cadre of unforced errors, unable to summon the strength or the power in her own game to cross the finish line.
“I don’t want to talk about how disappointed I am,” Williams said.
Vinci, a five-time doubles winner at the majors, made it particularly infuriating for Williams, keeping her backhand slice low and then matching a foot-heavy Williams from the baseline shot for shot.
It’s just the third loss in 56 matches this season for Williams, who hadn’t lost at a Grand Slam since the third round of Wimbledon in 2014, when she was shocked by France’s Alizé Cornet.
After the match, a subdued Williams credited her opponent. “I thought she played the best tennis in her career,” she said. “You know, she’s 33 and, you know, she’s going for it at a late age. So that’s good for her to keep going for it and playing so well.
“Actually, I guess it’s inspiring. But, yeah, I think she played literally out of her mind.”
A long shot at 300-1 odds coming into the match, Vinci has a chance to win her first Grand Slam when she takes on Pennetta, who owns a 5-4 head-to-head lead against her, including their last meeting, at the U.S. Open in 2013. It’s the first time two Italian women will meet in the Open final.
“This is an incredible moment for me. It’s like a dream,” Vinci said after the win on court. “I’m in the final. I beat Serena. Sorry guys, sorry. But for me, this is amazing, incredible… So many things in my mind.”
“This is the best moment of my life,” she added.
Did she believe she could win against Serena?
“No,” she replied laughing.
Vinci went up 4-2, then held off a break point for 5-3. She served for the set a game later at 5-4, securing it when Williams sent a backhand long.
The third set was perhaps one of the most dramatic in women’s tennis this year. Williams jumped to a 2-0 lead, then watched as Vinci roared back to even things at 2-all. In that fifth game, Williams attempted to fire herself up, doubling over at one point and pumping both fists as all of Ashe came alive, a mid-match ovation rarely heard in the sport. She would hold that game, but then lose three in a row to go down 5-3.
Serena would hold in the ninth game, three aces followed by “Come on’s!” In the final game, however, Vinci got up 40-love and didn’t need another match point, in a nine-stroke rally that ended with the Italian at the net, hitting a beautiful scoop volley winner.
She raised her arms in triumph.
“I’m sorry,” she repeated again on court. “For the American people, for the Grand Slam, for Serena… But today is my day.”
USA Today
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