In the final Grand Slam of the 2015 U.S. Open, both the men and the women’s tournaments produced brilliant tennis with some truly unexpected outcomes. The U.S. Open, located in Flushing, New York, set the stage for a series of historic moments in the world of tennis. Many predictions were made going into the tournament, some of which were proven to be completely incorrect from the earliest rounds through the two finals themselves.
On the men’s side of the competition, Andy Murray, ranked third, lost in the fourth round to Kevin Anderson, ranked 15. Murray’s loss came as a surprise to many; over the past five years he had never exited a tournament so early, whereas this was the first time Anderson had ever made it past the fourth round. Moving on to the semifinals, in one of the most decisive matches of the Open, Novak Djokovic, ranked first, destroyed Marin Cilic, ranked ninth, only giving up three games throughout. Finally, Djokovic met up with Roger Federer, ranked second, in the final. Federer was clearly a crowd favorite but Djokovic prevailed in four sets, winning his tenth career Grand Slam and his second U.S. Open title. The final score was 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. Finishing the year just short of a calendar grand slam, with first place trophies from the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and now the U.S. Open, Djokovic acknowledged that 2015 marks one of the strongest years of his career to date.
The women’s side of the competition received more press than usual, surrounding the number one ranked seed going into it, Serena Williams. Over the years, there has been talk that Williams is one of the greatest female players (Forbes Magazine) throughout the history of the sport. As she advanced through the U.S. Open, Williams worked towards the final trophy in what could have been her first calendar Grand Slam and the first women’s calendar Grand Slam since 1988. Tennis fans around the world closely followed Williams’ progress throughout the tournament, hoping that she would be able to make history. But, in the end, Williams appeared to have let the pressure get to her. Despite the incredible odds, she fell in the semifinals to unranked Roberta Vinci 2-6, 6-4, 6-4. Vinci’s win was unexpected, for onlookers and admittedly for herself alike. After the match, Vinci described the win as the “best moment of [her] life” and went on to apologize to Williams and all of America for taking down one of the greatest. Vinci managed to win the crowd over with her endearing honesty as she burst with pride when she said, “but today is my day! Sorry!”
Vinci moved onto the Finals, where she competed against Flavia Pennetta, a fellow Italian she had trained with whom since childhood and whom she had previously been doubles partners. Both Italians went in with no experience of playing in the final of a Grand Slam tournament, Pennetta had had 48 previous tournament appearances and had only ever made it as far as the semi-finals. In the end, Pennetta won 7-6, 6-2. After the match, both players appeared to be simply happy to have gotten as far as they did. They embraced and entered the award ceremony together. After Pennetta was handed her first ever Grand Slam first place trophy, she gave a speech. In her winner’s speech, she reflected on the pride she felt, the effort given by both herself and Vinci and, in the last shocking moment, she announced her official retirement from her tennis career. According to Pennetta, she had decided nearly a month ago that the U.S. Open would be her final appearance as a professional tennis player, no matter the outcome. In the end, she was able to walk away with her first and last major career crown, surprising nearly everyone.
Reflecting on the events of the tournament, many have marveled at Pennetta’s exit from the sport at a time when she is arguably playing the best tennis of her career. Furthermore, many have tried to understand what happened to the previously unbeatable Williams in what appeared to be the highest point of her career. It will be interesting to see what 2016 will bring for the sport of tennis. •
