US Open: Italy's Flavia Pennetta beats second-seeded Halep to reach finals

  New York: Italy’s Flavia Pennetta beat Romanian Simona Halep to book a berth in the US Open finals.   Pennetta took just 59 minutes to dispatch second-ranked Halep 6-1, 6-3 and reach her first Grand Slam final. [caption id=“attachment_2431350” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Flavia Pennetta at the US Open. AFP[/caption] “It’s amazing,” Pennetta said. “I didn’t think to be so far in the tournament. I played really well. I don’t know how to handle all the inspiration I have. “Really nothing changed. I tried to play every match the best I can from the first one, don’t worry about the draw and focus on the things I have to do on the court. And here I am.”   Pennetta, 33, broke Halep in the fourth game and again in the sixth when the Romanian netted a forehand on the way to taking the first set in 28 minutes. Pennetta and Halep traded breaks to open the second set and again in the fourth and fifth games of the second set. Halep led 3-1 but double faulted to surrender a break and Pennetta held and broke twice more for the victory, a forehand winner capping her fourth win in five tries over Halep. Pennetta becomes only the third Italian woman in a Slam final after Francesca Schiavone won the 2010 French Open final and lost in 2011 and Sara Errani, who lost the 2012 French Open final. If she hoists the trophy in her 49th Slam appearance, Pennetta would have the most tries of any Grand Slam women’s champion, two more than France’s Marion Bartoli when she won at Wimbledon in 2013. AFP