By: Ananya Murthy
The 2015 US Open saw some big upsets, in addition to some expected results. In men’s tennis, there were the usual favorites – Federer, Djokovic, and Nadal – in addition to other top players, like Murray, Wawrinka, Tsonga, and Cilic. Unsurprisingly, Federer and Djokovic were consistent in their wins, although Djokovic’s match with Bautista-Agut was a tough one that ended after four grueling sets. Nadal, surprisingly, lost to Fognini in a crushing five set match. After a series of early losses, in addition to an increasing number of injuries, Nadal’s career may be approaching its end. Murray also lost out early on, in the fourth round, to Kevin Anderson in a four set match, many of which came to tie-breaks.
The semifinals ended up consisting of Djokovic, Cilic, Wawrinka, and Federer. Both Djokovic and Federer crushed their opponents in straight sets, and moved on to the finals where they would face each other. After a four-hour rain delay, the finals began. Djokovic took the first set against Roger Federer 6–4, ending Federer’s winning streak of 28 straight sets since losing to Djokovic in the Wimbledon final in July. But Federer came back in the second set to take it 7–5. In the third set, Federer had several break point opportunities but Djokovic steadied and served out the set at 6–4 to take a 2–1 lead in the match. Djokovic pulled away in the fourth set and served for the match at 5–2 in the final set, but Federer rallied to make it 5–4. In the end, Djokovic closed out the match 6–4 in the final set.
Women’s singles had one of the biggest upsets, with Serena Williams losing to Roberta Vinci in the semifinals. The favorites were present – the Williams sisters, Azarenka, Kvitova, and Wozniacki – in addition to other top players like Halep, Stephens, and Radwanska. Both of the Williams sisters played decisively, and had no issue making it to the quarterfinals. Vinci made it to the quarterfinals, due to Bouchard pulling out from the Open. Kvitova, Pennetta, Azarenka, and Halep also continued on to the quarterfinals, although Halep had a tough three set match against Lisicki.
Serena and Venus faced off in an intense match, both physically and emotionally, with Serena coming out victorious. The semifinals consisted of Pennetta vs Halep and Williams vs Vinci. Serena was a favorite for her match, unsurprisingly, while Halep and Pennetta were relatively equal opponents. Williams began the match with a easy 6-2 first set, but the match was quickly turned around, with Vinci coming out on top with two 6-4 sets. Pennetta crushed Halep in straight sets. The finals was a match between two Italians, Pennetta and Vinci. After starting with a ton of unforced errors, Pennetta broke Vinci in the fifth game of the opening set on her seventh break point of that game. But Vinci broke back in the eighth game to tie the set at 4–4. ​The players ultimately went to a first set tiebreak, and Pennetta earned a mini-break to lead 3–2 when Vinci hit a forehand long. Serving to win the set at 5-4, Pennetta held both her serves and won the opening set when Vinci hit her shot long. The second set was all Pennetta, who broke Vinci three times and hit a cross-court winner to end the match. The US Open was Pennetta’s last professional tournament of her career, as she has now retired.
