Serving well, returning extremely well, and--most of all--holding her nerve, 10th seed Flavia Pennetta overcame 13th seed Samantha Stosur today to win the LA Women's Tennis Championships. This was Pennetta's 17th tour final, her 8th tournament win, and her first victory at a premier tournament.
It was a long time coming. The Italian player, who does well on both clay and hard courts, has it all--a good serve, a good return of serve, physical power, exceptional movement, and some nice strategy. Sometimes she has lost because her opponent was just better, but often, she has failed to win a big match because of a mental lapse.
Having a mental lapse at big moments has also been the hallmark of Stosur, who has now lost five finals. She allowed Pennetta to dictate the match today, and as she became increasingly frustrated, she made more errors. Her serve, usually the finest feature of her game, got her out of a few tough spots today, but was not the strength it has been throughout the tournament.
It's interesting that the first two victories in the 2009 U.S. Open Series have gone to very good players (Marion Bartoli won Stanford) who have had problems realizing their potential on the tour. To get to the final, Pennetta defeated--among others--Nadia Petrova, Vera Zvonareva and Maria Sharapova.
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