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In the biggest shocker of the US Open, and probably biggest upset of the year, World No. 1 Serena Williams was ousted by unseeded Roberta Vinci of Italy in the women’s semifinals. The loss ended Williams’ bid to become the first player to complete the Calendar Grand Slam since Steffi Graf in 1988.
Williams took the first set convincingly, winning 6-2, and looked all set to storm into the final. But it all started to go downhill for the top seed from there, even as Vinci lifted her game. The American committed 40 unforced errors to her Italian competitor’s 20, and by the end of the third set she was almost tearing her hair out of frustration.
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Vinci is now the lowest-ranked player since Venus Williams in 1997 to reach the finals of the US Open. The elder Williams was unseeded at the time, and she lost to the then World No. 1 Martina Hingis.
Ranked 43rd prior to her victory over Williams, Vinci will shoot up in the WTA standings following her entry into the US Open final – her first ever at a Major.
The shock result was preceded by another upset, as 2nd seed Simona Halep was thrashed by 26th seed Flavia Pennetta in the first semifinal.
Pennetta looked strong right off the bat, winning the first two games back to back. While Halep won the next, Pennetta shut her out for the remainder of the set, with her opponent unable to break. The Italian won the first set 6-1.
After suffering a rout in the first set, Halep looked to come back in set 2, leading her Italian competitor 3 games to 1, but the Italian took next 5 games in a row and ultimately took the match at a canter.
With a total of 10 forehand winners in the match, it would be her final one that won Pennetta the match in straight sets. The Italian hit 23 winners in all – the same number of unforced errors committed by the the Romanian World No. 2.
Halep has had a disappointing year at the Grand Slams. Although she is still near the top of the rankings, she crashed out of the French Open in Round 2 and Wimbledon in Round 1. She was widely tipped to reach her second career Grand Slam final today, but she once again failed to meet expectations.
This will be the first Grand Slam final for both finalists. This will also be the first ever all-Italian final at the US Open.
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