DHAKA: Flavia Pennetta claimed a first grand slam singles title with a 7-6(4) 6-2 win over Roberta Vinci in an improbable all-Italian US Open final on Saturday to cap an extraordinary fortnight packed with upsets.

Pennetta, 33, becomes the fourth oldest grand slam winner in the Open Era and joins 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone as the only Italian women to win a major title, reports TOI.

The match was set up by jaw-dropping upsets as unseeded Vinci knocked off world number one Serena Williams in the semi-finals to end the 33-year-old American's quest for a calendar year Grand Slam.

Pennetta's path to the final included two huge hurdles which she cleared with confidence in taking down Czech fifth seed Petra Kvitova in the quarter-finals and Romanian second seed Simona Halep in the semi-finals.

The Italian then announced her retirement from tennis moments after winning the title.

BDST:  1511 HRS, SEP 13, 2015
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