Italy’s Flavia Pennetta caused another upset at the US Open 2013 Tennis Championships on Wednesday with a comprehensive straight-sets victory over tenth seed compatriot Roberta Vinci 6-4, 6-1 to reach the semifinal. It was one of the rare all-Italian quarterfinal at a Grand Slam event.
Last year, Roberta Vinci also reached the final eight in the tournament and faced another Italian, good friend Sara Errani. It was Errani who won that match. This time, it was Pennetta who earned the ticket to her first Grand Slam semifinal in her career.
Pennetta is a former top ten player currently ranked 83rd in the world. Her ranking dipped after she had surgery on her right wrist that forced her to miss the rest of last season.
Pennetta higher-ranked Italians at the US Open draw, including fourth-seed Sara Errani in the second round and Vinci. She will next face either Victoria Azarenka of Belarus or Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia.
