Vinci content with all-Italian clash
Originally published on: 04/09/12 00:00
The 29-year-old Italian pulled off the shock of the tournament in the women’s draw on Monday after beating world No.2 Agnieszka Radwanska to reach the last eight of a Grand Slam for the first time. Errani then guaranteed that an Italian will feature in the semi-finals of the US Open for the first time in the Open Era after beating Germany’s Angelique Kerber.
“I’m happy to play against Sara,” insisted the world No.19. “[Either way] for sure an Italian goes into the semi-final. She’s my best friend, so I’m very happy to play against her.”
Vinci’s quarter-final effort follows up on her breakthrough at Wimbledon, where she defeated Ashleigh Barty, Marina Erakovic and Mirjana Lucic to reach the fourth round. The Taranto native had never previously surpassed the third round of a Grand Slam prior to her run at SW19, and believes that both her experience and her eclectic style of play have contributed to her current fortunes in New York.
“I’m not young. I have a lot of matches behind me, a lot of experience,” said Vinci. “I have a difficult style of tennis, for sure, [a] different style. I mix a lot of balls. I got to the net. I play a lot of slice. So it’s different.”
Errani, however, knows her game as good as anybody. The pair won the Roland Garros doubles crown in June and have picked up a further six WTA titles together this year – and 12 together in total. But why have they been so successful in the team format?
"First thing I can say is because we are also very [good] friends outside the court," said Errani, simply. "This is one thing that helps very much on the court, because, you know, the other, they are to help the other. But also because we are playing both very good, I think this year we are playing very good tennis."
Regardless of the outcome of Wednesday’s singles quarter-final, Vinci and Errani still have the doubles competition to look forward to. The pair face Julia Goerges and Kveta Peschke in the last eight and are guaranteed to climb to a career-high No.1 in the team ladder on September 10 after defending champions Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond lost in the third round.
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