No. 26 seed Flavia Pennetta will take on unseeded Roberta Vinci in the finals of the US Open on Saturday. The Italian women both scored upsets in the semifinals, downing the first and second seeds of the tournament in Serena Williams and Simona Halep. We were looking at the potential for a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup in the finals, but Pennetta and Vinci dispelled that notion completely.
US Open 2015, Flavia Pennetta vs. Roberta Vinci: Time, TV schedule and live stream for women’s final
Flavia Pennetta and Roberta Vinci will face off for the US Open crown on Saturday.
Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
Vinci scored the more notable of the upsets, bringing down top seed Williams and ending her bid for a Calendar Grand Slam after winning at the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon. Vinci took Williams down in three sets, but is still plenty fresh, having played one less match than Pennetta thanks to an injury to Eugenie Bouchard earlier in the tournament.
Pennetta beat Halep in in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3, and has played in 15 sets overall this tournament. Vinci has played in 14 sets, and the two have looked pretty much even throughout the tournament. They’re both serving well, they’re both placing their shots better than they have in years and they’re both worth watching on Saturday.
You can look at Pennetta and assume that she’s the favorite given her seeding, but after what happened on Friday that’s probably not a smart bet. What you can look at is the head-to-head record. The two have met nine times, and Pennetta has won five of them, including the last two. The last time the two faced off was the US Open quarterfinals in 2013. They met at a Grand Slam just one other time at the French Open in 2010, where Penneta also won.
Up until Friday, Pennetta looked better throughout the tournament, and everything about their play leading up to the tournament makes Pennetta look like the smart bet. But nobody thought Vinci could take down Williams, so Saturday’s match is definitely one to watch.
The match will begin at 3 p.m. ET, or when the men’s doubles final has concluded. It will be broadcast on ESPN, with a livestream available at WatchESPN.
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