History was made in Saturday’s U.S. Open women’s final. It just wasn’t the result that was expected when the tournament started.
Flavia Pennetta beat Roberta Vinci 7-6(4), 6-2 in an all-Italian final. With the win, the 33-year-old Pennetta becomes the oldest woman to win a first-time Grand Slam singles title in the Open era, which began in 1968 when professionals were first allowed to compete.
After the match, Pennetta made a stunning announcement. “This is the way I would like to say goodbye to tennis,” she said.
Pennetta earned $3.3 million for the win, leading announcer Robin Roberts to joke during the post-match ceremony, “We should all get a retirement check like this.”
With Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and celebrities including Michael Douglas, Robert Redford, James Taylor and Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade in attendance, it was a tentative start for both players. They exchanged several long rallies and each had a service break in the first set, before Pennetta seized the lead in the match by taking a tiebreaker 7-4 at the hour mark.
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