Flavia Pennetta upsets Simona Halep to reach US Open final
Saturday 12 September 2015 21:08, UK
Flavia Pennetta defeated Simona Halep in straight sets on Friday to advance to the US Open final.
The 33-year-old Italian overcame the odds to defeat the Romanian second seed 6-1 6-3 in Friday's semi final.
Rain on Thursday had postponed the match's start and it was Pennetta who handled the delay the better of the two, breaking twice early on to comfortably take the first set.
Halep was far below her best and started the second set in similarly poor fashion, losing her serve immediately after the break.
The world number two dug deep and broke back twice to lead the second set 3-1. However continuous unforced errors then handed the momentum back to Pennetta who emphatically won the next five games in a row to take the match in under an hour.
"It's amazing," said the Italian following the victory.
"I didn't think I'd get so far in the tournament. I think I played really well. It's amazing to be here on this court, with the crowd like this.
"I've just tried to play every match the best I can. I tried to not think too much about the draw and just play it match by match."
Pennetta will now play either Serena Williams or fellow Italian Roberta Vinci, who face each other in the day's other semi-final.
