CINCINNATI, OH, USA - Before this week, three women had nearly become Italy's first ever Top 10 player on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour - Silvia Farina Elia, Francesca Schiavone and Flavia Pennetta, who had all had brief stints ranked No.11. By virtue of her quarterfinal win at the Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open, Pennetta finally cracked that barrier.
Pennetta has been one of the hottest players around since Wimbledon, reaching the semifinals of Bastad in her first tournament of the summer (and falling to Caroline Wozniacki there) before going on what is now a 15-match win streak, which includes title runs at Palermo (5-0) and Los Angeles (6-0) and now a semifinal run at Cincinnati (4-0). Having entered Bastad ranked No.15, she is projected to rise to No.10 in the world on the August 17 rankings.
"This means a lot. Everyone was expecting this from the beginning of the year because I was No.11 in February, and everyone was talking about it all the time," Pennetta said. "It is a dream come true for me. I always hoped to be one of the best players in the world, and now I'm there. It's crazy."
Watch a Sony Ericsson e-card on Flavia Pennetta
Pennetta's 63 63 win over Daniela Hantuchova on Friday looks comprehensive but with the Top 10 looming there may have been some nerves in play, as she needed seven match points in the final game before finally closing her out.
"I was very happy today, because I was really tired in my hands, my legs, my back - I started to feel it. But when you're in the moment, you're just running and trying to think what you have to do to keep playing. I found some energy, I don't know from where, but I still believed I could do it."
The 27-year-old becomes Italy's first female Top 10 tennis player, with Adriano Panatta and Corrado Barazzutti both doing it for the men in the 1970s.
Pennetta has eight singles titles and six doubles titles in her Tour career, the biggest of each set coming at Los Angeles - she was the doubles champion there in 2005 (with Elena Dementieva) and the singles champion there a week ago. Born in Brindisi, Italy and now a resident of Verbier, Switzerland, her career goal has always been to reach the Top 10 - can she go even higher?
"In the beginning my goal was to win Rome, with all of my people there. But then it became winning a Grand Slam, and then to be Top 10, of course."
