Flavia Pennetta provided the first stunner of the day on "Frantic Friday" with her upset victory over second-seeded Simona Halep. The Italian was the heavy underdog coming into the match but absolutely dominated the Romanian from the get-go. A 6-1, 6-3 victory for the Italian booked a spot in her first ever Grand Slam final.

Dominant first set to the Italian

Halep looked to get going early on with a scorching forehand winner to open up the proceedings, but Pennetta looked spot on throughout the rest of the game to go on and hold. Halep would respond with a love hold to show she was not ready to back down. After another hold from the Italian, that’s when the Romanian spotted trouble. Pennetta created two break chances in the following game and converted on the second after Halep dumped a shot into the net. The Italian would then consolidate handily and had all the momentum behind her while Halep was limping through.

Halep once again found herself in trouble on her serve. The world number two saved two break points before creating a game point of her own. A blistering pass from the Italian saved it and would get the double break lead after the Romanian dumped two more shots into the net. It was looking like a lost cause at this point for the Romanian. Pennetta clinched the set on a brutal backhand down the line as Halep looked extremely spent for all the tennis she’s been playing over the past three weeks.

Halep races ahead early, but Pennetta finds her way to the final

The first four games of the set were deja vu from the first, but this time, Halep would get the break to go up 3-1 after Pennetta sent a forehand long; she had game points but squandered those chances. However, the Italian responded in fine form to break back right away by finishing the game off with an over the shoulder backhand volley. She would consolidate with a hold at love, and this is was just the beginning of the Pennetta freight train.

The Italian would break at love in the seventh game to create some major separation. Pennetta was bullying a weary Halep from corner-to-corner and side-to-side as the Romanian’s fight wore on for those games but her will looked to be all but done after the second break.

The Italian would cruise through another service game to force Halep to serve to stay in the match. Pennetta created two match point chances, but the first would be saved off of a Halep pass. A forehand winner which clipped the line clinched the match for Pennetta to send to her maiden Grand Slam final. Later in the day, the madness of “Frantic Friday” continued as Pennetta's countrywoman, Roberta Vinci, provided the shock of the world by knocking off Serena Williams in three sets to set up an all-Italian final for the ladies at the US Open.

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About the author
Noel John Alberto
Filipino-American sports journalist from Toms River, NJ. UMBC Graduate and aspiring physical therapist. Tennis editor and multi-sport coordinator for VAVEL USA. Writer for Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Serie A sections of VAVEL UK. Sports aficionado. Host of the On The Line tennis podcast.