Lovestruck Pennetta happy to quit as US Open champion

Flavia Pennetta captured her first Grand Slam singles title at the US Open on Saturday and said she was happy to head into retirement.

The 33-year-old beat fellow Italian Roberta Vinci 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 to become the oldest first time women's winner at a major.

She then stunned the 23,000 crowd inside Arthur Ashe Stadium by announcing her retirement, admitting she had made the decision to quit before the tournament began.

"Before I started this tournament one month ago, I took a big decision about my life," said the 26th seed.

"I decided that this is the way I would say goodbye to tennis. This is my last US Open and I couldn't think of finishing in a better way."

Playing in her 11th US Open, Pennetta said she was stunned to have gone so far in the competition.

"I'm really happy. I never thought I would get so far and never thought I would be a champion. This is one of my favourite tournaments, I enjoy playing here," she said of an event where she has consistently recorded her best results at the majors.

"It's a dream come true, and it's also nice to play with a friend of mine - we have known each other since we were nine years old, we spend so much time together.

"We could write a book about our lives," added Pennetta after collecting the winner's cheque for $3.3 million.

It had been a dramatic US Open for Pennetta who had an earlier match interrupted by a drone crashing into the stadium.

World number one Serena Williams, who was knocked out by Vinci in the semi-finals, ending the American's dream of a calendar Grand Slam, tweeted her congratulations to Pennetta who had succeeded her as champion.

"@flavia_pennetta congrats I'm so happy you won. You deserved it. I am also happy for the rest of your life's journey. I will miss your smile," wrote Williams.

Vinci, the world number 43 and a year younger than her Fed Cup teammate, was unable to repeat the form that shattered Williams.

"It was tough, I passed the 24 hours with a lot of things on my mind," said Vinci who had shared a lunch table with Pennetta before the match.

"But I am really happy and happy for Flavia. It's tough to play against a player who you have known for a long time.
"I tried to play my best, but she played unbelievable and I have to say congratulations to her."

There was a stream of congratulations for Pennetta after her decision to quit.

"@flavia_pennetta No better time to retire- on top and a Champion!! Well done!!!!!," tweeted US tennis legend Jimmy Connors.
Austria's Tamira Paszek, a former Wimbledon quarter-finalist, hailed the Italian's personality.

"Always been one of the sweetest people on tour @flavia_pennetta enjoy this new chapter of your life," wrote Paszek.

Pennetta and boyfriend, Italian tour player Fabio Fognini, the man who knocked out Rafael Nadal, shared a kiss on court and in the corridors of the Arthur Ashe Stadium.

That had other players swooning.

"How sweet was it that Fabio flew back from europe to be with Flavia! And his reactions!!!! Priceless!" tweeted Puerto Rico's Monica Puig.

Retirement

Flavia Pennetta won her first grand slam singles title over Roberta Vinci in an improbable all-Italian US Open final on Saturday then added one more shock to a stunning fortnight by announcing her retirement.

With the 7-6(4) 6-2 win, the 33-year-old Pennetta becomes the fourth oldest grand slam winner in the Open Era and joins 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone as the only Italian women to win a major singles title.

But as the celebrations kicked into high gear, Pennetta dropped a bombshell that provided a dramatic finish to the year's final grand slam and her career.

After embracing childhood friend and Fed Cup team mate Vinci at the net a smiling Pennetta stood at centre court during the trophy presentation and told a capacity crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium that included Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi that she would retire.

"This is the way I would like to say goodbye to tennis," she said before hoisting the trophy and accepting the $3.3 million (£2.14 million) winner's cheque. "I'm really happy. It's what all the players seem to want to do, to go out with this big trophy.

"And so this one was my last match at the US Open and I couldn't think to finish a better way."

Pennetta's surprise announcement provided a jaw-dropping finish to a grand slam packed with surprises.

She said it was a decision she made a month ago when a grand slam triumph would have seemed improbable and suggested fate may have played a part in her grand slam goodbye.

"Maybe that is why I am here today," Pennetta said while embracing the trophy. "I was trying to play every match like it was my last one. Trying to play best all the time.

"For me it is easy to practise and stay in this life but sometimes it is hard to compete.

"It will be a new life for me, I played tennis since I was young."

BREATHTAKING UPSETS

The unlikely final was set up by breathtaking upsets as unseeded Vinci knocked off world number one Serena Williams in the semi-finals to end the 33-year-old American's quest for a calendar year Grand Slam.

Pennetta's path to the final included two huge hurdles which she cleared with confidence, taking down Czech fifth seed Petra Kvitova in the quarter-finals and Romanian second seed Simona Halep in the semi-finals.

"Miracles can happen. Because I beat Serena, miracle," said Vinci. "And then two Italians can reach the Grand Slam final, a miracle."

While the all-Italian final was greeted by a big yawn in the Big Apple, Italy was gripped in tennis hysteria as the sport made front page headlines and convinced Renzi to drop his busy schedule and fly to New York.

Since Williams's triumph at Wimbledon in July, the buildup to the US Open had focussed almost entirely on the American's bid to become just the fourth woman and first since 1988 to complete the calendar slam.

Her surprise semi-final exit took much of the buzz out of the tournament and triggered an immediate collapse in ticket prices for the women's final.

According to ticket aggregator SeatGeek, the median price for tickets to the final on the secondary market had risen to more than $1,500 when Williams reached the semi-final but plunged below $500 following her loss on Friday.

The match between best friends and former doubles partners who first played each other when they were nine years old got off to a predictably cautious start for two players competing in their first grand slam final.

Showing signs of nerves, Pennetta and Vinci seemed content to battle from the baseline, trading early breaks as the first set went to tiebreak.

After winning the tiebreak and sensing the title was within her grasp, Pennetta broke Vinci at the first opportunity en route to 4-0 lead before clinching the match with a final service break.

"We spent so much time together, we moved to Rome together when we were 13-, 14-years-old and stayed in the same room for four years," said Pennetta. "It is like a sister, it is so magical you have one of your best friends with you in this moment."

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