U.S. Open 2015: ‘Tired’ Petra Kvitova upset by Flavia Pennetta

The New York heat finally proved too much for Petra Kvitova.

Already battling a viral disease that saps her energy, the two-time grand slam champion’s U.S. Open campaign came crashing to a halt Wednesday as the Czech was upset by Italian Flavia Pennetta in the quarterfinals.

“From the beginning of the match I didn’t really feel 100% ready today,” the fifth seed told reporters. “I suffered a lot, but I’m still here.”

As she had done in her previous four matches, Kvitova won the opening set – but she visibly faded in the second and was taken to a third for the first time in the tournament by the 26th seed.

Pennetta triumphed 4-6 6-4 6-2 in two hours and 23 minutes, meaning that two Italian women will be in the semifinals of a grand slam for the first time in the Open Era of the sport.

The 33-year-old, who also reached the last four at Flushing Meadows two years ago, joins compatriot Roberta Vinci – who has the daunting task of challenging world No. 1 Serena Williams on Thursday.

Kvitova is one of only two players to defeat the American this year, so Pennetta’s surprise win has boosted Williams’ hopes of completing the first calendar grand slam since Steffi Graf in 1988.

Kvitova, who still managed her best result in New York by reaching the last eight for the first time, said she will have further blood tests ahead of the WTA Tour’s Asian swing and the season-ending championships in Singapore.

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“Now I’m feeling really exhausted, so I’m really glad I can sit now,” she said at her press conference, where she acknowledged that both players had struggled with the conditions.

“It’s not very nice when you’re playing out there. Of course you’re feeling much better if you are in the shade. You’re just feeling a little bit cooler,” she said.

“But when you see the ball it’s kind of a little bit tricky because you really don’t see as well as you normally do. That’s why probably we were kind of suffering from the first set.”

Kvitova made 60 unforced errors to Pennetta’s 16, which overshadowed her greater number of winners: 41-21. It was the same story on serve as she fired four aces to her opponent’s none, but made nine double-faults to Pennetta’s three.

“It was just presents to give her … and she didn’t miss at all,” the 25-year-old said.

Pennetta will next face world No. 2 Simona Halep, who beat former No. 1 Victoria Azarenka in a rain-hit closing quarterfinal.

Organizers had already decided to bring forward the opening match of the night session – the men’s quarterfinal between second seed Roger Federer and France’s Richard Gasquet – by an hour due to the expected bad weather, but it arrived sooner than was forecast.

Later Wednesday, the other scheduled last-eight match between Federer’s fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka and South Africa’s Kevin Anderson was also moved to an earlier time and switched to the No. 2 Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Federer and Wawrinka didn’t linger when they got on court, brushing aside their opponents 6-3 6-3 6-1 and 6-4 6-4 6-0, respectively, to ensure a semifinal between the men who led Switzerland to Davis Cup glory last November.

Azarenka had battled back after losing the opening set to lead 2-1 in the decider when the players were called off the court at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The rain should not be an issue next year, when the arena’s new retractable roof is expected to be ready.

However, she was unable to continue that momentum when they returned to the court over an hour later.

“I was a bit tired after the second set and that break helped me,” Halep told the crowd.

Halep – watched by Romanian gymnastics legend Nadia Comaneci – rallied to triumph 6-3 4-6 6-4 and reach the semifinals of a grand slam for the first time since Wimbledon last year.

Azarenka, beaten by Williams in the 2012 and 2013 U.S. Open finals, was once again playing with her arms protected from an apparent allergy to her playing outfit.

The 20th seed had sported bandages in her previous match due to blisters caused by rubbing against the material of her top, and this time wore full compression sleeves.

Halep is the last player to beat Williams in one of the five top women’s tournaments, winning their round-robin clash at 2014’s season-ending championship before losing to her in the final. It’s her only victory over the 21-time grand slam champion in seven clashes.

Williams’ only losses in 55 matches this year are to Kvitova in Madrid in May and Swiss teen Belinda Bencic in Toronto last month, while she has pulled out during three tournaments.

Brilliant Federer

Federer hit 50 winners as he improved his record to 15-2 against Gasquet and has yet to drop a set this tournament. He is 16-3 versus Wawrinka but lost their last encounter at the French Open, where the world No. 5 eventually won the tournament for a second grand slam title.

Wawrinka’s lopsided victory over Anderson came one match after the South African upset Andy Murray. Anderson, contesting his first major quarterfinal, had beaten Wawrinka four straight times.

Novak Djokovic meets defending champion Marin Cilic in Friday’s other men’s semifinal. If Djokovic prevails, the world No. 1 would become the second man – after Federer – in the last 45 years to feature in all four grand slam finals in one season.

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