Serena Williams suffered one of the greatest shocks in tennis history as unseeded Italian Roberta Vinci ended the American’s hopes of a calendar grand slam with a stunning victory in the US Open semi-finals yesterday.

Vinci, ranked 43rd in the world, had never gone further than the quarter-finals of a major tournament before but the 32-year-old came from a set down to beat Williams 2-6 6-4 6-4.

It means Williams’ run of 33 consecutive grand slam victories comes to an end while Vinci will now play fellow Italian Flavia Pennetta in tonight’s final.

Earlier, Pennetta crushed Romanian second seed Simona Halep 6-1 6-3 to kick off a packed day of action with an stunning upset that put her into a first grand slam final.

Flavia Pennetta in action against Simona Halep.Flavia Pennetta in action against Simona Halep.

Vinci took advantage of some loose points from the American with inspired play and determination to overcome the tournament favourite.

After wrapping up her momentous win, Vinci broke down in tears, dumbfounded as she struggled to speak during her on-court interview.

“It’s an incredible moment for me,” Vinci said.

“It’s like a dream, I’m in the final, I beat Serena, it was an incredible match. When I served I was like voooooo, it was impossible.

“I tried to stay focused, not to think about the match or about Serena, she is an incredible player. It is the best moment of my life.”

Vinci added: “I am sorry for the American people, for Serena, for the grand slam, but today is my day, sorry guys.”

Pennetta, 33, entered the contest against Halep as the clear underdog but the 26th seed showed her experience and was not overwhelmed on the big stage having reached at least the quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows in six of the last seven years.

“It’s amazing. I didn’t think to be so far in the tournament,” said Pennetta. “Today I think I played really well.”

With the crowd still filing into Arthur Ashe Stadium Pennetta grabbed the first break of the match to go up 3-1 and then pulled away from an out-of-sorts Halep.

Halep’s problems followed her into the second set as Pennetta broke again to take the early initiative before the Romanian finally began to push back breaking the Italian and surging into a 3-1 lead.

Halep tried to go on the attack but a calm Pennetta would not crack and swept through the next three games to regain momentum and a 4-3 advantage.

Serving to stay in the match, Halep fought off one match point before her resistance collapsed, Pennetta finishing off with a forehand winner.

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