Flavia Pennetta Bows Out With US Open Title

By Clinton Trueman | Sep 12, 2015

Sep 12, 2015; New York, NY, USA; Flavia Pennetta of Italy celebrates after beating Roberta Vinci of Italy in the women

US Open Player of Day Thirteen: Flavia Pennetta Bows Out With US Open Title

In sport, one of the many tensions that athletes face is how long they allow their careers to endure. Do they continue out of love for the competition even when their best is a distance memory of matches past? Or do they abandon their careers upon reaching their prime?

The approach that players take isn’t universal. Lleyton Hewitt, now 34, is well beyond his years as a grand slam contender, but is still donning his backward cap and unfurling his victorious catchphrase ‘come-on’ toward his opponents. On the other side, there are women like Marion Bartoli, who retired weeks after winning Wimbledon in 2013, and Li Na, who hung up her racket months after her 2014 Australian Open triumph.

Now, Flavia Pennetta has joined the latter group, announcing her retirement a matter of minutes after defeating close friend and fellow Italian Roberta Vinci in the US Open final, 7-6, 6-2.

Pennetta will see out the remainder of her 2015 season. But what a remarkable way this farewell grand slam run was for her to leave behind a sometimes-illustrious, sometimes-tumultuous career.

Pennetta has always been a solid player. Her backhand is world-class; her court coverage is excellent; and her variety, particularly at the net, is often inspired. But although she’s capably dismantled a host of top players throughout her career, the Italian has never been able to challenge for the biggest titles in tennis, save for an impressive Indian Wells title.

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That made it all the more impressive this week when she took out the second last woman to win the US Open in Sam Stosur, world no. 5 Petra Kvitova, and world no. 2 Simona Halep, to reach a maiden grand slam final against friend Vinci.

The final was certainly not a pretty match, for the first set at least. Vinci and Pennetta, both visibly tight competing for the biggest title of their career against a close friend, produced a slew of errors amongst the occasional applause-inducing exchange. Despite some sloppy shotmaking, Pennetta closed out the set in a tiebreak.

But once the second set rolled around and both women settled into the match, the encounter became a much more high-quality affair. Vinci was exhibiting some of the tricky all-court play that helped her take out Serena Williams in the semifinal. But it was no match for Pennetta, who had finally found some range on her biting backhand. With the assistance of some intelligent and aggressive play, the elder Italian closed out the set 6-2 and claimed her first grand slam title.

The affectionate embrace the net between Vinci and Pennetta may have been the most longest from any grand slam match. Although she had lost her opportunity to win a first grand slam singles title, Vinci appeared nothing but joyful for her friend.

Upon announcing her retirement during the trophy ceremony, Pennetta drew gasps from both the Flushing Meadows crowd and Vinci. It was surely a bittersweet moment: with a higher ranking, Pennetta could have done some damage in Indian Wells, and she could have tried to win that Rome title she’s always sought after.

But as Pennetta explained: if you’re going to go out, you may as well go out on top.

So for winning her first (and last) grand slam title and ending her career on a high, Flavia Pennetta is our Player of the Day for Day Thirteen at the US Open.

Former Players of the Day

Day Twelve: Roberta Vinci

Day Eleven: N/A due to rain delay

Day Ten: Simona Halep

Day Nine: Venus & Serena Williams

Day Eight: Kevin Anderson

Day Seven: Kristina Mladenovic

Day Six: Victoria Azarenka

Day Five: Fabio Fognini

Day Four: Johanna Konta

Day Three: Madison Keys

Day Two: Caroline Wozniacki

Day One: Benoit Paire

Who do you think was the best player of day thirteen of the US Open? Let us know in the comments below!

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