U.S. Open 2015: Serena Williams Goes Down

After the U.S. Open 2015 Semi-Final match, Roberta Vinci was asked by ESPN’s Tom Rinaldi about what gave her belief this morning that she could defeat Serena Williams.

She shook her head, “No.”

With history on the line, Serena Williams fell short of her greatest triumph of winning all four Majors in the same year as un-seeded Italian Roberta Vinci won the match 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the first Grand Slam final of her career.

The first set was typical Williams, raising her level to get the necessary break and hold to win it at 6-3.  Vinci fought back in the second set and managed to overcome Williams and win at 6-4.

With the third set, despite having lost momentum, Williams answered by getting an early break in the third to go up 2-1.  The unseeded Italian managed to do what no one opponent has in 33 Grand Slam matches and held on to get the break back and remain in the match.

At 2-3 in her service game, Williams showed great emotion in delivering a prolonged shout after winning every single point.  The American held on and celebrated each point as if it was for the entire match.

Sep 11, 2015; New York, NY, USA; Roberta Vinci of Italy (left) shakes hands with Serena Williams of the USA after their match on day twelve of the 2015 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

With the final set at 3-3, Vinci managed to hold-on to reach 40-40 on Serena’s serve.  Despite her best efforts, the American failed to close out the game and lost the break.  Vinci went on to hold to put the score at 5-3.

In front of stars such as Billie Jean King and Drake, Williams held off Vinci in her service game which gave her winning streak a final breath as she forced her opponent to serve for the match.  With history on the line, it seemed that the pressure was simply too much as the Italian closed out the game 6-4.

Roberta Vinci went into the match as a 300-1 underdog and had only ever defeated the number one player in the world once, against Caroline Wozniacki.  In her post-match interview, Vinci was very modest about her victory.  On what she told herself this morning, she stated: “I’m in U.S. Open semifinal, try to enjoy it.  Don’t think about Serena in the other court.”

To show just how improbable Vinci believed her victory would be, it was revealed that the 32 year old had already booked a flight for Saturday believing she would be out of the tournament.

“I don’t want to talk about how disappointing it is for me.”-Serena Williams

Serena Williams briefly answered questions at the post-game press conference.  She praised Vinci and briefly gave her thoughts on the match before leaving the Billie Jean King Tennis center just thirty minutes after playing, unchanged from her clothes from the game

Coming into the match, Williams had not lost in 33 straight Grand Slam matches, going all the way back to last years U.S. Open.  The tournament is by far her most successful as it is the only Major that she won three years in a row.  Williams won the Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon for what remains the best stretch of her career at 33 years of age.

Williams will still likely end the year as the world number one.  Watching her, the emotion and tension in not just her movements but also the arena was palpable.  The magnitude of the moment was inescapable on Arthur Ashe and her face reflected the emotions swirling inside her.

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It is a tragedy that such a historic year for arguably the greatest player of all time is punctuated by her failure to achieve a career milestone.  To win three Grand Slams in a single year is more than most other players on the tour can even imagine, male or female.

But the fact was, it was Serena Williams moment to seize.  In sports, it is among the greatest challenges for an athlete to play up to their potential when there is so much at stake.  For a great champion like Serena, it was about playing the match like any other without thinking about the milestone that was within her reach.

In a game that she wins any other day of the year, on Friday she simply wanted it too much.

Unseeded Roberta Vinci will now face fellow Italian Flavia Pennetta who had her own breakthrough moment earlier this morning in throttling second-seeded Simona Halep in straight sets.  Due to the rain delay earlier this week, the two players will face a quick turn-around and play the final tomorrow.