Why not Flavia?

Sometimes, we catch a glimpse of a streaking comet on the ATP or WTA tour, and have to ask ourselves, "Where has this guy/girl been?".  If you've ever been fortunate enough to watch Flavia Penetta compete - really battle a quality opponent - you may have asked yourself that question over and over, again.  Penetta is a joy to behold on a tennis court, seemingly natural-born to the sport with no visible weaknesses.  And her blessings?  Light feet, deft touch, high tennis IQ, versatile serve, reliable forehand, and a Caravaggio of a two-hander.  That is a lot of game.  To be fair, Penetta does not posses the overwhelming power that has propelled many of the ladies that sit above her in the WTA rankings, but those same players cannot lay claim to some of Flavia's gifts, either.  Bottom line, even at the relatively advanced tennis age of 33, Penetta is too good to be #26 in the world.

When we watch Flavia Penetta double-fault away the first set of her U.S. Open quarterfinal against Petra Kvitova - after leading 40-love in a 4-5 game - we can only ask, "why?".  The answer to that question can also help solve the riddle of why so many extremely talented players haven't accomplished so much more.  Nerves can suppress talent like weeds choking flowers.  Every player battles nerves, but those sharing Penetta's penchant for wearing their emotions on their sleeves seem especially vulnerable to being overtaken in the struggle.  At any given tournament, Flavia is as capable of a 1st-round exit as she is a deep run.  After breaking down on court during a match with Maria Sharapova at Indian Wells, the Italian spoke candidly about the pressure to defend points and meet expectations.  Still, Penetta has overcome nerves well enough to become a national hero in Fed Cup play, to win Indian Wells, and to reach the U.S. Open semis in 2013, so we know the ceiling is lofty for the Brindisi-born Olympian.

When we watch her fight back to win the second set of the same U.S. Open quarterfinal against Petra Kvitova - to force a battle of nerves in the third - we can only ask, why not Flavia?  To then wear Kvitova down in the 3rd, and beat the two-time Wimbledon winner.  Why not Flavia?  Could we also watch her go on to win the 2015 U.S. Open?  Hey...why not Flavia?