- Associated Press - Monday, September 2, 2013

NEW YORK —  Roberta Vinci will face a fellow Italian in the U.S. Open quarterfinals for the second straight year.

In a testament to the depth among Italy’s women’s tennis players, the 10th-seeded Vinci will also be taking on a countrywoman for the third straight round at this year’s tournament. She and Flavia Pennetta won Monday to set up a matchup of 30-somethings who have known each other since they were 8.

Vinci beat Camila Giorgi 6-4, 6-2 in 67 minutes. Moments later, rain started pouring down, stopping all matches at Flushing Meadows for 4½ hours.

The delay couldn’t have come at a better time for Pennetta, who came back to the court to seize momentum and clinch a 6-2, 7-6 (3) victory over 21st-seeded Simona Halep.

American wild card Alison Riske forced a third set against Daniela Hantuchova, but the veteran pulled away for a 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 victory.

Halep had set point on her serve, trying to send the match to the third, when the skies opened up. Once they resumed, the 83rd-ranked Pennetta won three straight points to even the second set at 5-5.

Halep promptly broke again, but she couldn’t serve out the set this time, either. Then the 31-year-old Pennetta dominated the tiebreaker for her first Grand Slam quarterfinal since 2011.

Vinci had never made a Grand Slam quarterfinal before this tournament a year ago, when she was 29. Now Vinci has done it in consecutive U.S. Open trips. She lost to another countrywoman, doubles partner Sara Errani, in the quarters in 2012.

“It’s obvious that I’m not young. I’m 30. But it can be a strength, because I have a lot of experience,” Vinci said. “Against a player like Camila, who is very young, it can be an advantage for me — and I think it was on the court today.”

Errani, the top-ranked Italian woman, was upset by Pennetta in the second round this year while seeded fourth. No matter, the country will still have a representative in the women’s semifinals for the second straight time.

Before last year, that hadn’t happened once in the Open era, which began in 1968.

Giorgi, a 136th-ranked qualifier, was trying to reach her first major quarterfinal at age 21. In her third-round upset of sixth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki, she crushed the ball on point after point, with 46 winners and 45 unforced errors.

She jumped to a 4-1 lead in the first set Monday, but Vinci stayed poised and patient. Vinci, who had never faced the younger Italian before, started attacking her forehand, and Giorgi’s mistakes mounted. She finished with 35 unforced errors to 20 winners.

“The problem wasn’t the opponent,” Giorgi said. “The problem is that I wasn’t myself on court today.”

Vinci is one of only two players seeded in the top 10 left in her half of the draw, along with No. 2 Victoria Azarenka.

Azarenka’s meeting with 13th-seeded Ana Ivanovic was postponed Monday because of the rain. So was the Williams sisters’ doubles match.

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer were each still scheduled to play later Monday, though there was more rain in the forecast.

Arthur Ashe Stadium is finally getting a roof, the U.S. Tennis Association announced last month. But that won’t happen until 2016 at the earliest. For now, rain delays are the reality at Flushing Meadows.

If Nadal and Federer win their fourth-round matches — whenever they’re actually completed — they’d meet in a quarterfinal of 29 combined Grand Slam titles. The great rivals have met 10 times at major tournaments, but never before the semis.

The potential matchup in the quarters is a byproduct of Federer falling to a seeding of No. 7. His match with 19th-seeded Tommy Robredo was moved to Louis Armstrong Stadium. It was the first time since the fourth round in 2006 — also because of rain — that Federer played on the Open’s No. 2 court. Fans immediately lined up outside Armstrong to attempt to land a seat.

The second-seeded Nadal is still scheduled to face No. 22-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber on Ashe to start the night session.

Copyright © 2024 The Washington Times, LLC.

Please read our comment policy before commenting.

Click to Read More and View Comments

Click to Hide