Viva Italia!

The first-ever all-Italian Grand Slam final at the US Open pitted twenty-sixth seed Flavia Pennetta against Roberta Vinci in front of a massive crowd on Arthur Ashe Stadium that included the Prime Minister of Italy and a host of celebrities. Viva Italia!

After a wonderful display of all-court tennis, it was Pennetta who weathered a tight first set before storming through the latter stages of the match, defeating Vinci to win her first Grand Slam singles title, 7-6 6-2.

The biggest surprise of the match came during the on-court trophy ceremony, when Pennetta shocked the crowd by announcing that she is retiring from professional tennis after 15 years on tour.

“Before I started this tournament, one month ago, I made a big decision in my life. And this is why I would like to say goodbye to tennis,” she said to a stunned crowd.

“I’m really happy. It’s what all players want to do, go home with one of these big trophies. So this one was my last match at the US Open and I couldn’t think to finish a better way. I want to thank everyone who supported me during my career. All my coaches, my family, who aren’t here, but they’re going to be proud of me. I love you guys.”

Despite the loss, Vinci was all smiles afterward and said her run a this year’s tournament was the greatest moment of her life.

“I think it’s an incredible moment for all Italian people,” she said. “Now when I come back home, I can realise what we made, because it’s not normal for me now. … But I would like to come back and try to understand what I did.”

Maria Bueno was watching the match with interest.

“I didn’t think they played as well as they both did in the semi-finals, probably because of the occasion, but it was a wonderful match that they both clearly enjoyed playing,” she said.

“They both play very similar types of game in many ways and that doesn’t always make for the greatest tennis, plus Roberta Vinci didn’t really have much time to recover from her amazing three-setter against Serena [Williams] yesterday [Friday], which certainly didn’t help her.

“She must have been tired both physically and emotionally but she tried her best to upset Flavia [Pennetta] using her sliced backhand and getting to the net. Unfortunately her volley wasn’t working as well as yesterday.

“Flavia had a much easier time in her semi-final, beating [Simona] Halep in two quite easy sets so she was fresher, although she was very nervous at the start, you could see that.

“When she settled down she had a little more power that Vinici and, in the end, that’s what carried her through.

“As I said, it was a match played with wonderful spirit. The two are great friends and know each other’s games inside out and I don’t think it really mattered which one won or lost, they would be equally happy about it.

“It was great to see them after the match too – full of fun and very happy!

“We were all very surprised when Flavia announced her retirement. No-one expected that!

“What is so nice is that the Italians have gone mad over this, with the Prime Minister, the Italian Ambassador and the Chairman of their Olympic Committee watching and so thrilled.

“They couldn’t stop smiling, all of them!

“I think it is great to have a new Grand Slam champion too, it refreshes the game and it shows that anybody with talent, who works hard, can come through to win big titles.

“I agree with Chrissie’s [Evert] commentary, which I caught a bit of later, that this was a bit of a throw-back to the days when players needed to use their skills and tactics to win, not brute force.

“It was great to see!”

It was a unique and really special day in the history of tennis.