Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
NEW YORK — There will be no historic Grand Slam for Serena Williams after all.
Roberti Vinci made sure of that after calmly hitting a forehand half volley winner on the first of three match points against the great Serena.
The 32-year-old unseeded Italian stunned Williams — and the tennis world — by knocking off the three-time defending champion 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinals of the US Open.
Williams was seeking to become the first person since Steffi Graf in 1988 to win the Grand Slam.
Vinci entered the tournament facing odds of 300-1 to win it, and Serena had been 43-1 against unseeded opponents at the Open in her career.
“I’m sorry, for the American people, for Serena, for the Grand Slam,” Vinci said on court. “Sorry guys.”
Instead of Serena completing her coronation, we will now have an All-Italian final in Flushing Meadows when Vinci takes on her countrywoman Flavia Pennetta in Saturday’s final.
Pennetta stunned No. 2 Simona Halep, 6-1, 6-3, in 59 minutes in the first semifinal to advance to her first ever Grand Slam final. The Nos. 1 and 2 seeds are now out.
“Tomorrow one Italian win for sure,” Vinci joked.
“This is an incredible moment for me,” she added. “It’s amazing, it’s like a dream. I’m in the final, I beat Serena. For me it’s an amazing moment, it’s incredible.”
Darren Rovell of ESPN reported on Twitter that the average list price to the women’s final before the Serena match was $1,412 a ticket. Afterward? $680.
Serena entered having won 26 straight US Open matches and 33 consecutive Grand Slam matches. She was also seeking to tie Graf for second all-time with her 22nd Grand Slam title.
“I don’t want to talk about how disappointing it is for me,” Serena told the press. “If you have any other questions, I’m open for that.”
Serena has still won the last four Major titles for the second of her Serena Slams, and preferred to focus on the positive — not on this historic loss.
“I felt very happy to get that win at Wimbledon, you know,” Serena said. “I did win three Grand Slams this year. Yeah, I won four in a row. It’s pretty good.”
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After losing the first set 6-2, it appeared that this might be another routine victory for Serena, but Vinci roared back to take the second set by breaking Serena in the fifth game.
Still, Serena had been 18-1 in three-set matches this year, so she looked like the favorite entering the decider.
But Vinci continued to change the pace, using a variety of drop shots and slices to get Serena “all out of sorts,” as Pam Shriver said on ESPN.
Vinci also came to net often — winning 18-of-25 net points (72 percent). She ultimately won the match at the net on match point.
“I thought she played the best tennis in her career,” Serena said. “You know, she’s 33 and, you know, she’s going for it at a late age. So that’s good for her to keep going for it and playing so well.
“Actually, I guess it’s inspiring. But, yeah, I think she played literally out of her mind.”
After her quarterfinal win over her sister Venus, Serena was asked by an Italian journalist, “About Roberta Vinci, of course. Even in Italy we think that she has no chance, but what is your opinion about it?”
Said Serena: “Yeah, I think it’s good. I played her in Canada. She played me really tough, and I didn’t really expect that.”
