A year ago, tennis fans came into the men’s singles semifinals eagerly anticipating a potential Novak Djokovic-Roger Federer finale, a battle of No. 1 versus No. 2, only to sit shocked as Kei Nishikori and Marin Cilic pulled back-to-back upsets to upend the tournament.
That was nothing compared to this.
On Friday, a pair of stunners turned the 2015 US Open upside down. First, the mild: No. 26 seed Flavia Pennetta, 33, whipped No. 2 Simona Halep in straight sets to advance to her first career Grand Slam singles final. Then, the absolutely, positively astonishing: world No. 1 Serena Williams, who had lost just twice this year and not once at a Grand Slam since 2014 Wimbledon, fell in three riveting frames to unseeded Roberta Vinci, who at 32 was playing in the first Grand Slam semifinal of her 15-year career.
Though belatedly, order was restored at night, setting up the men’s final that everyone expected a year ago. Djokovic led off with a clinical performance against a hobbled Marin Cilic, dismantling the defending champion in 85 minutes, 6-0, 6-1, 6-2. Federer followed with an equally impressive performance, dismissing reigning French Open champion Stan Wawrinka, 6-4, 6-3, 6-1.
So we will see No. 1 versus No. 2 after all. Just not on Saturday.
Here’s a recap of the day that was and a look ahead to Day 13 – an all-Italian, all-unheralded women’s singles final – at the 2015 US Open.
Match of the Day / Upset of the Day: No one saw this coming. Not even Roberta Vinci, who admitted as much after the match. Over the course of three tournament-altering sets, the 32-year-old Vinci, 15 years into her career and playing in her first Grand Slam singles semifinal, defeated the seemingly invincible Serena Williams, the world No. 1 and three-time defending US Open champion who was bidding for the first calendar-year Grand Slam since Steffi Graf accomplished the feat in 1988. The upset, scored 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, was even more confounding considering that Serena had easily won all four career meetings against Vinci, never dropping more than four games in a single set, and that one week before the US Open, the bubbly Italian had needed to go through qualifying just to reach the main draw at the Emirates Airline US Open Series event in New Haven. Serena, meantime, entered the semifinals with a 2015 match record of 53-2. Now, that’s 53-3, and Vinci is the victor in one of the greatest upsets in tennis history.
Upset of the Day (the non-Vinci version): Over the years, Flavia Pennetta has been a fixture in this space. She advanced to the quarterfinals in 2011 as the No. 26 seed, was unseeded during her sprint to the semis in 2013 and checked in at No. 11 when she reached the quarters again in 2014. On Friday, this year’s 26th seed completed her greatest run yet, advancing to her first Grand Slam tournament final with a stunningly one-sided, 6-1, 6-3 victory over No. 2 Simona Halep. The 33-year-old was dominant from the outset, looking far fresher than her 23-year-old opponent. And even when the Romanian rallied to take a 3-1 lead in the second set, Pennetta quickly quashed her momentum, running off 15 consecutive points at one juncture and racing into the final in a tidy 59 minutes.
Players of the Day: Let’s start here: Roberta Vinci could fill every Day 12 award, but in the interest of spreading the love, let’s look elsewhere – in this case, to the first championship earned at this year’s US Open. In a landmark victory for both players, Leander Paes and Martina Hingis won the mixed doubles championship in a super tiebreak over the all-American squad of Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sam Querrey, 6-4, 3-6, [10-7]. With the victory, Paes became the all-time men’s leader in Open era Grand Slam mixed doubles titles, with nine, and Hingis won her first US Open crown since 1998, when she captured the women’s doubles with Jana Novotna. With the victory, Hingis completes the US Open trifecta, having also won the women’s singles title in 1997. And as a team, Hingis-Paes became the first mixed doubles pairing to win three majors in one year since Margaret Court and Marty Riessen in 1969.
Quote of the Day: “It’s an incredible moment for me, it’s unbelievable. I’m in the final. It’s like a dream. … It’s the best moment of my life.” – Roberta Vinci, clearly flustered during her on-court interview, after upsetting Serena Williams in three sets to reach her first Grand Slam final.
Looking Ahead: It’s the women’s singles final that no one saw coming, as a tandem of veteran Italians square off in the first Grand Slam singles title match for each – and the first US Open women’s singles final of the Open era featuring dual 30-somethings.
Flavia Pennetta and Roberta Vinci are not completely unfamiliar with Finals Weekend at the US Open; Vinci won the women’s doubles title here in 2012 (with Sara Errani) and Pennetta reached the women’s doubles final a year ago (with Martina Hingis). But this is virgin territory for each in singles. In fact, Vinci had never before advanced to a Grand Slam semifinal prior to this year, and Pennetta had reached only one – at Flushing Meadows in 2013.
Who handles the pressure better on Saturday afternoon could go a long way in deciding the title. Either way, the US Open will have its first-ever Italian champion.
