Serena Slammed

It was an astonishing result, Serena slammed in the US Open semi-finals by a lowly-ranked and unlikely Italian, Roberta Vinci.

We asked Maria Bueno on her thoughts on the match, the result and the impact on the world number one, Serena Williams.

“It was a really amazing match and I was glad to be there to see it,” said Maria, who watched from the President’s Box.

“Both the semi-finals were terrific matches and it is incredible that two Italians are in the finals against all the odds – I heard 300-1!

“Italians can play, they are brought up on the clay and can run forever, so in some ways we shouldn’t be too surprised by these two results.

“Both [Roberta] Vinci and [Flavia] Pennetta are very experienced players and they have been on the big stage in doubles so they weren’t going to over-awed by the occasion, plus they had absolutely nothing to lose and managed to capitalise on their chances – first Pennetta who destroyed Simona Halep in straight sets and then Vinci beating Serena.

“Vinci gave Serena nothing, little pace and slicing her backhand – sometimes deep, sometimes short. And she used the drop shot to unsettled her and you could see she was losing confidence the closer it got.

“The Italian is also very quick and has very good hands at the net, which you could see on match point when her touch was perfect.

“For Serena it was a huge occasion, with the Grand Slam at stake, so the pressure on her was huge, but I have always thought that if a player could break her rhythm up a bit, make her move forward and back, they have a better chance of beating her and that is what Vinci did today [Friday].

“It goes to show that winning a Grand Slam is not easy and in a way Serena has been lucky to win the last four majors because she has dropped something like eleven sets in the process.

“Even here, at the Open, she has been in trouble at times and not looked totally dominant as she normally does.

“The disappointment for Serena is massive but the loss does not diminish her accomplishments in any way and she will still end the year as the world number one, with her ‘Serena Slam’ in tact, which, at 33, is really something.

“I think we will see a really good final because these two are good friends and know each other’s games so well, and they are very evenly balanced in terms of their head to heads results. Plus there is a singles Grand Slam title to fight for!

“They must be going crazy in Italy!

“Vinci and Pennetta are both over 30 also and it tells us something about the game – that providing you can stay healthy and not get injured, the more experience yet get, the better you can get.

“We see that in Roger [Federer], who has reached the final without dropping a set, playing an aggressive net game.

“He has been incredible over the past few weeks and took care of Stan Wawrinka in three amazingly quick sets, just 90 minutes I think, in the semis.

“Novak Djokovic has made it through to the final too, with a very quick win over Marin Cilic, the defending champion, who won just three games in three sets but we later heard he had an ankle injury.

“Both will be rested ahead of the men’s final so we can expect a great match then too.

“Perhaps the main concern is the weather because I hear the forecast is not too good. If it rains on Sunday,the men’s final could again be held over until Monday but this will be for the last time as from next years the US Open will have a roof, thank goodness!”

Any predictions for the trophies?

“It’s to close to call,” laughs Maria. “But it will be fun to watch!”