Pennetta Cried A Lot After Her Return

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 5th September 2013

Pennetta Cried A Lot After Her Return

epa03850940 Flavia Pennetta of Italy reacts after defeating Roberta Vinci of Italy their quarterfinals round match on the tenth day of the 2013 US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 04 September 2013. The US Open runs through Monday 09 September, a 15-day schedule for the first time. EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO |

Flavia Pennetta, who returned from wrist surgery earlier this year, says the effort she put into returning to tour was worth it after her US Open run. Pennetta defeated fellow Italian Roberta Vinci to reach her first Grand Slam semifinal at 31.

“From first day of the tournament I never think to be here and talk about the semifinal,” she said. “You know, I didn’t play my best tennis in the last six months, and I just try to keep working and working in the same way every day. I [was] starting to feel more my forehand, my backhand. Everything starting to feel more normal in the way it was before the injury.”

Before her quarterfinal, she talked about her struggles earlier in the year. “A lot of thing change when I come back,” said Pennetta. “Was really tough. Everything was really different, from my coach, from my doubles partner, from the feeling I had in the court, everything. I try to just come back and play the most I can, single, doubles, mixed, everything. When you stop for so many time, so long — like seven months — something like that, when you come back, you feel different, and all your body have problem.

You don’t have problem in your hand, but you start having problem in the leg or the abdominal because you are not used to play for such a long time. Your body just need time to recover.”

After returning to the tour in February, Pennetta made the semifinals in Palermo and Bastad and the fourth round of Wimbledon, but otherwise failed to win consecutive matches. But the former top 10 player kept at it and in her fourth crack at the US Open semifinal, she was able to push open the door and run through it.

“It’s always up and down because I cannot find a way to be consistent all the time,” she said. “But I was working hard, still working every day with my coach, with my physio, with the physical coach, and also with my psychologist, yeah. Was not easy, I can tell you. I cry a lot. But I love this sport. I would like to have a chance just to prove myself. I try my best. If I can come back, good. If not, I have a good career. I don’t have to do nothing more. But I would like to try 100%, and I did it. Now the result, it’s good.”

Topics: 10sballs, Flavia Pennetta, Grand Slam, John Mcenroe, Roberta Vinci, Sports, Tennis, US Open

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barbaraplebani says:

September 5, 2013 at 9:26 am

RT @10sBalls_com: Pennetta Cried A Lot After Her Return : Flavia Pennetta, who returned from wrist surgery earlier this y… http://t.co/Wc…