Flavia Pennetta Unseeded Angelique Kerber

Unseeded Angelique Kerber of Germany defeated Flavia Pennetta of Italy, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, in a tense, hard-fought match that sent the German into the U.S. Open women’s semifinal, where she will face another surprise victor, Samatha Stosur of Australia.

Pennetta held four break points on Kerber’s serve in the eighth game of the final set but could not convert them. She jammed a backhand long to hand her opponent a chance to go up 5-3 in the deciding set.

When Pennetta, seeded 26th, sent an easy overhead over the baseline to yield the game, Kerber stood at the verge of an upset victory. Her forehand winner to one corner appeared to begin to seal the verdict. But then she hit a forehand into the net, survived a challenged call, but then could not keep the Italian from rushing to net for a winning volley.

Kerber held match point at 30-40 on Pennetta’s serve and drove a forehand at Pennetta’s feet to force a volley that flew wide and won the match.
Flavia Pennetta
Flavia Pennetta
Flavia Pennetta
Flavia Pennetta
Flavia Pennetta