World number two Simona Halep and Italian 26th seed Flavia Pennetta will meet in the US Open semi-finals in the wake of winning in engrossing three-setters. Romania’s Halep, 23, beat Belarusian Victoria Azarenka 6-3 4 6-4 in a downpour intruded on match in New York. Pennetta, 33, profited by two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova’s irregularity to win 4 6-4 6-2 and contact her second US Open semi-final. After Roberta Vinci crushed Kristina Mladenovic on Tuesday, No. 26 Flavia Pennetta aroused in the wake of dropping the first set to annihilation No. 5 Petra Kvitova 4–6, 6–4, 6–2 in sweltering conditions on Arthur Ashe on Wednesday. Kvitova was into the fourth round at the U.S. Open surprisingly and by the second set, the two-time Wimbledon champion was battling in the hot and damp condition. Pennetta is into the semifinals for second time in three years at the U.S. Transparent the first run through in the Open period, two Italian ladies are into the semifinals at a Grand Slam. Furthermore, three players more than 30 years of age are into the ladies’ semifinals as Pennetta, 33, joins Serena Williams, 33, and Roberta Vinci, 32.
Roberta Vinci and Serena Williams will challenge Thursday’s other semi-final. With both Pennetta and her countryman Vinci in the last eight, two Italian ladies have made the last four of the same Grand Slam competition without precedent for the Open time. Previous world number one Azarenka, who burned through 51 weeks as world number one prior in her profession, is moving move down the rankings after a progression of wounds in the course of the last two seasons. Halep looked in risk as her 26-year-old adversary came into the third set with force in the wake of winning the second in noteworthy style. In 38 appearances at the other three Grand Slam occasions, Pennetta has made the last eight fair once. She said, “I got behind the baseline in the second set and had to to do a lot of running. That break helped me. Thanks, God, for raining”.
Nonetheless she has made the quarter-finals six times in seven years at Flushing Meadows and made just 16 unforced blunders to Kvitova’s 60 to advance to the semi-finals for the second time in New York. Pennetta said, “The second set I was really in trouble, but I just kept going. It’s unbelievable.”
