After a rather disappointing season marred by injuries and lack of form, Flavia Pennetta got an unexpected chance of fulfilling her Grand Slam quest at this year's US Open. After her thrilling victory over hot favourite Maria Sharapova in the third round, Flavia, faced with an easy side of the draw, became the front-runner for a semifinal berth. Moreover, after Australian Samantha Stosur disposed of second seeded Vera Zvonareva, the Italian's dream of reaching the final showdown of a major started taking roots. Should she have won her quarterfinal clash with unseeded German Angelique Kerber, ranked no. 92 in the world, Pennetta's 4-0 head-to-head record over the Aussie set her in pole position for a place in the big finale against either Serena Williams or world number 1, Caroline Wozniacki.
Things didn't go as planned though, as Kerber's stiff resistance and inspired shot making paid off eventually. The enormous number of unforced errors took their toll and the Italian saw her dream crumble to pieces after a heart-breaking 4-6,6-4,3-6 defeat. Flavia was magnificent at times, turning the second set around from 2-4 down. Nevertheless, her inconsistency proved too much to handle. Her game totally deserted her in the end when she lost the last five games of the match to give Angelique the biggest success of her career.
As I said, there was so much at stake for her, that she probably choked under pressure. A great result at Flushing Meadows could have turned her season around. This is not meant to take anything away from her still decent performance, i.e. she had reached the last eight at a Slam for the third time. If someone asked her at the beginning of the tournament, she would have happily settle for a place among the elite's best eight. It's the rue opportunity that could linger in her mind. If she'll never face another such opportunity again, she has only herself to blame for missing her date with destiny.
On top of her singles defeat, Flavia and partner Gisela Dulko exited the doubles competition prematurely, succumbing to the Italian duo Sara Errani - Roberta Vinci in the third round. This adds to a miserable season for the team that looked to have the world at its feet after winning the Australian Open crown in January.
photos: GETTY IMAGES
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