Serena slam is foiled
Vinci stuns champ in semi thriller
STUNNED Serena Williams l ast night saw her dream of a calendar year Grand Slam perish at the hands of unheralded Italian Roberta Vinci.
The American superstar was odds-on to become only the fourth woman to win all four Majors in one year — but in one of the sport’s biggest ever upsets, 32-year- old Vinci battled back from a set down to beat Williams 2-6 6-4 6-4 in a spectacular US Open semi-final.
Another coronation looked likely for the imperious Serena, despite a nervous progression to the last four, when she took the first set.
But the feisty world No 43 refused to go away, covering every inch of the court and forcing a variety of errors from t he def e ndi ng champion to set up an all-Italian final with Flavia Pennetta, a 6-1 6-3 winner over No2 seed Simona Halep earlier in the day.
Williams did not play at her best and was pegged back by Vinci’s deep shots to the baseline, but that was to take nothing away from the Italian who gave up doubles this year to concentrate on singles and has now received the ultimate reward.
After sealing her momentous win — which ended Williams’ amazing run of 33 consecutive victories in grand slams — Vinci broke down in tears. As she struggled to speak during her on-court interview, she blurted: ‘It’s an incredible moment for me. It’s like a dream, I’m in the final, I beat Serena, it was an incredible match.
‘I tried to stay focused, not to think about the match or about Serena. She is an incredible player. It is the best moment of my life.
‘I am sorry for the American people, for Serena, for the Grand Slam... but today is my day.’
Vinci had been knocked out in the first and second rounds at all three Majors this year but, after a slow start, she unsettled Williams with slice, angle and variety of shot.
Williams opened up with an ace, one of 16 she served in the match, but four baseline errors gave Vinci an early break and a 2-1 lead.
The top seed switched her racket at the changeover and it seemed to do the trick as Williams broke back, winning five out of the next six games to take the set.
But Vinci wasn’t discouraged as she snatched the first break of the second set and this time held on, surviving a break point at 5-4, to serve out and force a decider.
Williams seemed to recover as she stormed into a 2-0 lead. But Vinci would not lie down and a double fault from the No 1 seed handed the break straight back.
Williams cranked up t he volume at 2-2, greeting every point with a violent scream and clench of the fists, but two games later Vinci responded in kind, cupping her ear to the crowd and pointing to her chest after finishing a scintillating point with a volley.
The drama was far from over as Vinci hustled, harried, chipped and chiselled her way to a break of serve at 3-3 and then held serve to sit one game away from victory.
Williams held to put the pressure back on her opponent but Vinci showed nerves of steel at 5-4, producing two superb half-volleys to serve out and complete the most unlikely of triumphs. Meanwhile, for the second Grand Slam in succession Jamie Murray has lasted longer in the tournament than his illustrious brother.
I t may be t he l ess arduous form of the game, but the achievement of the Scot and partner John Peers in backing up their Wimbledon f i nal with another at the US Open authenticates Murray as a major star of the
doubles circuit.
He will become the first British player since Roger Taylor in 1972 to play in the doubles final today, in the hope of adding this to his 2007 Wimbledon mixed doubles title.
Murray and Australia’s Peers will play the French duo of Nicolas Mahut and Pierre Hugues Herbert on the huge Arthur Ashe Stadium, with Andy sure to be watching back home in Surrey.
The last time Jamie faced Mahut was in the Davis Cup quarter final against France, when he arguably outshone his more talented sibling as they dramatically tilted the tie in Great Britain’s favour.
For Murray, 29, meeting up with Australian Peers proved a turning point after years of disappointment which had him questioning his future in the game. The process of learning alongside one another has been key.
‘ The f act i t’s our third year together is important,’ Murray said. ‘It’s pretty long term considering a lot of other teams out there are chopping and changing a lot. ‘We’ve both improved aspects of our game that needed to get better. I’m definitely serving better than I ever have. There was a stat the other week that we were ranked two or three in the year for service holds, at 92-93 per cent.
‘I think we have both improved on return, getting a lot more balls in court. Once the ball is in play, I think we’re better than a lot of teams because we’ve got that understanding.’
After today’s final Murray will head straight to Glasgow where Australia are the opposition in the Davis Cup semi-final.
Peers is clearly upset he will not be there, too, and it is baffling the Aussies have not even invited their highest- ranked doubles player along as a hitting partner, given his knowledge of Murray’s game.
‘All I can do is get another win and prove the point I should be there,’ he said. ‘Hopefully they can select me somewhere down the track.’