Flavia Pennetta and Roberta Vinci pulled off impressive performances, staging stunning upsets, at the 2015 US Open. Pennetta and Vinci will star in an all-Italian clash in their first-ever appearance in the final of a grand slam tournament.

Pennetta upset second seed Simona Halep 6-1 6-3 in their semifinal clash. The 33-year-old rallied past the Romanian and won five games in a row to clinch the first set. Halep down Pennetta 3-1 in the second set, but the Italian cruised to another five-game winning streak to close the second set. In the match, Pennetta struck 23 winners in just 59 minutes to secure her place in the final.

Pennetta will play fellow compatriot Vinci, who advanced after notching a stunning upset of Serena Williams 2-6 6-4 6-4, in the final. This is the first time that Pennetta and Vinci had made it in the final two of a grand slam tournament. Pennetta’s best grand slam appearance came in the US Open semifinal. Vinci, on the other hand, beat his previous best US Open appearance when she made it in the last eight in two consecutive years in 2012 and 2013.

No one could have foreseen the two Italians squaring off in this year’s US Open final. Both players eliminated some of the top-seeded female players on tour to earn their spots in the championships.

Pennetta beat No. 22 seed Australian Sam Stosur in the fourth round 6-4 6-4. In the quarterfinal, Pennetta also upset No. 5 seed Petra Kvitova in three sets 4-6 6-4 6-2. She fired 20 aces and 128 winners with 90 unforced errors from her previous matches (15 sets in the tournament).

Vinci, who had a walkover in the fourth round after Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard has pulled out due to an injury, clinched the upset of the century and dismissed Williams in the semifinal. Vinci played 14 sets at Flushing Meadows. She struck 12 aces and 94 winners, with 121 unforced errors.

Pennetta owns a 5-4 head-to-head advantage over Vinci. Their last meeting took place in the 2013 US Open quarterfinal, where Pennetta won 6-4 6-1.

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