The Grand Slam will have to wait.
Two victories from joining the most prestigious club in tennis, Serena Williams ran into a roadblock at the United States Open.
In one of the biggest surprises in tennis history, Roberta Vinci, an unseeded Italian veteran playing in her first Grand Slam semifinal, defeated Williams, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, on Friday.
“It’s an incredible moment for me,” said Vinci, who cried in her chair after the upset and called the victory the “best moment of my life.”
Instead of Wiliams playing for a Grand Slam in Saturday’s final, it will be an all-Italian final between Vinci and the 26th-seeded Flavia Pennetta.
In another upset earlier in the day, the 26th-seeded Pennetta defeated No. 2 Simona Halep, 6-1, 6-3. But that, in relative terms, was no surprise compared to what Vinci engineered later in the afternoon on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Pennetta, 33, and Vinci, 32, have each won Grand Slam titles in doubles, but neither had advanced to a Grand Slam singles final until Friday.
Vinci apologized to the crowd for changing the story line.
“For the American people, for Serena, for the Grand Slam and everything,” she said. “But today is my day. Sorry, guys.”
The last player to complete the Grand Slam by winning all four major singles titles in the same year was Steffi Graf in 1988. Williams had put herself within close range by making great escape after great escape this season, winning the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon and her first five matches in Flushing Meadows.
Along the way, she had won 11 three-set matches, shrugging and snarling off early and late challenges, illnesses and other setbacks.
But chasing the Grand Slam is one of the great pressure cookers in sports. Graf has said she felt much more relief than joy when she pulled it off at age 19.
Williams, at 33, was experienced enough to understand just how precious an opportunity this run provided her. Though she had her moments of brilliance on Friday, including 16 aces and many overpowering return winners, the pressure ultimately proved too much.
Down the stretch, she was clearly fighting herself as much as Vinci, a clever tactician whose crisply sliced one-handed backhand made it difficult at times for Williams to generate her trademark pace.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/12/s...o-spot-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news
Two victories from joining the most prestigious club in tennis, Serena Williams ran into a roadblock at the United States Open.
In one of the biggest surprises in tennis history, Roberta Vinci, an unseeded Italian veteran playing in her first Grand Slam semifinal, defeated Williams, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, on Friday.
“It’s an incredible moment for me,” said Vinci, who cried in her chair after the upset and called the victory the “best moment of my life.”
Instead of Wiliams playing for a Grand Slam in Saturday’s final, it will be an all-Italian final between Vinci and the 26th-seeded Flavia Pennetta.
In another upset earlier in the day, the 26th-seeded Pennetta defeated No. 2 Simona Halep, 6-1, 6-3. But that, in relative terms, was no surprise compared to what Vinci engineered later in the afternoon on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Pennetta, 33, and Vinci, 32, have each won Grand Slam titles in doubles, but neither had advanced to a Grand Slam singles final until Friday.
Vinci apologized to the crowd for changing the story line.
“For the American people, for Serena, for the Grand Slam and everything,” she said. “But today is my day. Sorry, guys.”
The last player to complete the Grand Slam by winning all four major singles titles in the same year was Steffi Graf in 1988. Williams had put herself within close range by making great escape after great escape this season, winning the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon and her first five matches in Flushing Meadows.
Along the way, she had won 11 three-set matches, shrugging and snarling off early and late challenges, illnesses and other setbacks.
But chasing the Grand Slam is one of the great pressure cookers in sports. Graf has said she felt much more relief than joy when she pulled it off at age 19.
Williams, at 33, was experienced enough to understand just how precious an opportunity this run provided her. Though she had her moments of brilliance on Friday, including 16 aces and many overpowering return winners, the pressure ultimately proved too much.
Down the stretch, she was clearly fighting herself as much as Vinci, a clever tactician whose crisply sliced one-handed backhand made it difficult at times for Williams to generate her trademark pace.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/12/s...o-spot-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news
