Flavia Pennetta broke records Saturday as she won the first all-Italian grand slam final in history, taking the US Open trophy 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 over childhood rival and good friend Roberta Vinci.
Penneta, 33, became the oldest women to win her first career grand slam final. The unexpected success came in her 49th major.
Among the crowd at Flushing Meadows was Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who made a late decision to fly from Rome for the unprecedented final between his compatriots.
Pennetta and Vinci have been close for decades, with both southern Italians growing up in the game together.
Pennetta beat world number two Simona Halep in the semi-finals, while Vinci stunned top seed Serena Williams, denying the American a potential calendar-year grand slam title sweep.
Pennetta lost a break in the opening set but won the opener in a tiebreak after one hour. In the second Pennetta went up a double break, lost one of the breaks before clinching the win.
