Just yesterday, no one in their right mind would have thought that possible. Not because Penetta and Vinci aren't talented players, but because anything outside of Serena Williams making history on Saturday simply had to be anti-climactic. But it didn't go down like that, not even close, and the U.S. Open fans played a massive role in flipping the script. This final had been sold out for days in anticipation of America's biggest tennis party, ever, and when the Italians -Vinci, especially - forced a drastic change in plans on such late notice, you had to wonder how many folks would even bother to show up. The answer was resounding, as Arthur Ashe Stadium was full, bustling, and brimming with anticipation well before Ciara had finished "God Bless America". If many of those fans were fortunate enough to take their seats thanks to reduced pricing in the ticket resale market, hallelujah, because this Open final was more than deserving of an audience that wanted to be there.
Both players displayed early butterflies, but matchups make matches, and the backhand to backhand exchanges between Penetta and Vinci were breathtaking in both skill displayed and tension held. Vinci's slice was at it's sharpest, absolutely shredding the opposite ad-court baseline, and Penetta was left little reasonable choice but to dig in, get low, and return cross-court...right back to the same deadly weapon, knowing that Vinci would deftly pounce on any short ball with a tried-and-true slice and approach. Penetta seemed hopelessly stuck in a defensive pattern. So many other players could and would have folded, but the Brindisian has bedrock in her game, and that bedrock is her two-handed backhand. Penetta stuck with it, weathered the first-set's onslaught of nerves and slice with true grit, and relied on some clutch serving and net play to carry her through to a tie-breaker. Both had displayed first-rate commitment and courage for just under an hour, but it would be Vinci who would finally blink in the breaker, donating several errors, while Penetta rode steadier strokes and service to a 7-4 win.
Nobody knows Flavia Penetta's game any better than childhood friend and Fed Cup teammate, Roberta Vinci, and Vinci had to know she'd be facing a more relaxed, confident, and daring opponent in the second set. A sobering realization, and just as prophetic. Although Penetta was never able to replicate the forehand form she used to shock Simona Halep in their semifinal, she did breathe free enough to gain better depth off that wing, and the world #26 was able to dictate play in the 2nd set with increased ease and efficiency. Vinci employed every trick in a considerable book to stem the tide, but Penetta had already taken her biggest punch, and there would be no looking back. After jumping out to a 4-0 lead, Penetta overcame some nervy moments, late, to close out on a forehand winner at 5-2. It took 49 Grand Slam singles appearances over a span of 13 years, but at 33 years of age, Flavia Penetta had stormed New York City to join 2010 Roland Garros champion Francesca Schiavone as the only other Italian woman to hoist the winner's trophy at a major.
The 2015 U.S. Open has shown that it's no easy feat to play against family with so much at stake, but playing a friend and loved one can't be any walk in the park, either. Penetta and Vinci handled this final with such grace and aplomb, and that was only emphasized by an embrace at net that left many of us at home wondering how competitive tennis can sometimes become so crass and petty. While this matchup of amici almost guaranteed civil behavior, everyone who swings a racquet can still stand up and take note of the spirit in which it was played. By the beginning of the trophy presentations, we could see a complete transformation in the energy, words, and attitudes of ESPN's tennis team, as if there were something new, fresh, and exciting to be found in women's tennis. By the end of the trophy presentations, the tennis world's existing axis may have been obliterated.
Vinci took the result for exactly what it was: a culmination of the greatest two weeks in her career. There had to be disappointment, but no way was she going to rain on Italy's - or, her friend's - parade. No, Vinci exuded pure joy for both her compatriot's achievement and for her own effort. The tiny Tarantan had sent shock-waves across the planet, and although her life will never be the same, we can only hope Roberta Vinci doesn't change too much along with it. Her candidness over the previous 48 hours had won her millions of new fans. So did her play. Vinci's style is a throwback to a visually appealing, artful brand of tennis driven by touch and feel, and she stands as an example that the game can be mastered by those small in stature, but big on belief.
Flavia Penetta accepted her winner's check for $3.3 million, and explained to the world how connected her own tennis journey had been with Vinci's. "Pennuccia" thanked her small, but glowing entourage for their support, and capped off her words by taking the time to tell the U.S. Open fans she'd always appreciated so much that they'd just watched her last match in a major. Penetta will retire from tour play at the end of 2015. Perhaps that decision helps to explain the serenity Penetta displayed while knocking off three seeded players en route to the title. She'd battled nerves throughout her career, and many thought such a struggle would keep majors out of reach, but Penetta never buckled in New York. She overcame one-set deficits in matches, twice, before leaving her masterpiece to tennis, a 6-1, 6-3 dismantling of the 2nd-seeded Halep. Penetta will exit Fed Cup play with an astonishing 25-5 mark, having helped Italy capture four championships, and she played in a U.S. Open final that rekindled an appreciation for tennis with flair, not attitude. With her Open title, Penetta skyrockets to world #8, and will fight to earn a spot in the year-end WTA Finals to be played in Singapore. A Finals berth would pit Flavia Penetta against the very best one last time, but there can never be any doubt that she belongs among them.
