I'm half joking, but Pennetta reaching the quarterfinals was a slam dunk. She's now done it in six of her last seven U.S. Open apperances, which is extraordinary. Clearly she's benefitted from fortuitous draws since I believe she never once was seeded in the top eight, but it's still an incredibly rare accomplishment. 

How rare? I just looked it up, and the only two active WTA players who have gotten to the quarters or better of the same slam in at least six out of seven appearances at any time in their career are Serena and Venus. Sharapova's never done it, nor has anyone else. 

This time, Pennetta has a shot to reach the final. She can beat Kvitova if Kvitova is slightly off, although Kvitova goes in as the favorite. She can beat the winner of Halep-Azarenka, too. Halep will be physically spent if she gets past Azarenka, and Pennetta actually routined Halep at the U.S. Open two years ago. Azarenka has established a pattern all year of looking like she's back to peak form, then throwing in a clunker, and she definitely is not moving as well as she did pre-injury. 

Last edited by funches (9/08/2015 12:16 am)

Actually, I take it back. The Halep who showed up against Azarenka yesterday will not lose tonight to Pennetta. That's the grand-slam winning Halep (though probably not this one with Serena in the way) --40 winners and 19 errors and focused on every point. 

Pennetta might break her serve a few times because her backhand return is very good, but this match will be one-way traffic. Halep almost choked away her match with Lisicki in the 4th round, but players who cannot overpower her cannot beat her when she's motivated.

Sorry for the delay in the results.

funches: 92
Forehand_lob: 65

When I made my picks, I choked like Serena in the semis!