As she finished her on-court interview, she announced that this would be her last US Open match.
"This is the way that I would like to say goodbye to tennis," she said, an announcement that surprised everyone in the stadium.
Pennetta said she had decided prior to the tournament that she would retire. She never could have imagined what that last US Open match would look like, that her Grand Slam career would end in front of her country’s prime minister and a slew of dignitaries, all flown in Friday night after she and Roberta Vinci pulled off a pair of shocking upsets against the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds.
Pennetta defeated No. 2 Simona Halep in straight sets. A few hours later, Vinci completed the upset heard around the world: the unseeded, surprise semi-finalist beat 21-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams.
The pair of wins set up a championship meeting between two women who have been playing each other since they were children. Now in their 30s, they have at times been roommates and doubles partners, and have always been friends. Pennetta says they are like sisters.
They are now the oldest and second-oldest first-time champions in Grand Slam history. Pennetta is 33 years and six months old; Vinci is 32 years and six months.
Vinci could do no wrong in her win over Williams. She maintained that spark in the first set against Pennetta. At 2-all, they went through six break points in the fifth game before Pennetta converted the seventh.
There, the spark that had been propelling Vinci for two days started to flame out. Pennetta took the tiebreak, 7-4. By the second set, the spark was completely gone. Pennetta earned two early breaks to go up 4-0, then 5-2.
As they hugged at the net, Vinci looked genuinely happy for her friend. Pennetta chose that moment to tell her the news she'd soon share with the crowd.
"This is the perfect moment," Pennetta told reporters. "Was a really hard decision to make, but I'm really happy that I did it. I'm really happy and proud of myself."
Pakistani currency continues to gain against US Dollar and other currencies on April 18, 2024. US dollar was being quoted at 277.2 for buying and 280.3 for selling.
Euro comes down to 293 for buying and 296 for selling while British Pound stands at 342.25 for buying, and 345.65 for selling.
UAE Dirham AED was at 75.25 and Saudi Riyal's new rates was at 73.30.
Currency | Symbol | Buying | Selling |
---|---|---|---|
US Dollar | USD | 277.2 | 280.3 |
Euro | EUR | 293 | 296 |
UK Pound Sterling | GBP | 342.25 | 345.65 |
U.A.E Dirham | AED | 75.25 | 75.95 |
Saudi Riyal | SAR | 73.3 | 74.05 |
Australian Dollar | AUD | 181 | 182.8 |
Bahrain Dinar | BHD | 739.63 | 747.63 |
Canadian Dollar | CAD | 201 | 203 |
China Yuan | CNY | 38.45 | 38.85 |
Danish Krone | DKK | 40.45 | 40.85 |
Hong Kong Dollar | HKD | 35.57 | 35.92 |
Indian Rupee | INR | 3.32 | 3.43 |
Japanese Yen | JPY | 1.86 | 1.94 |
Kuwaiti Dinar | KWD | 902.26 | 912.91 |
Malaysian Ringgit | MYR | 58.24 | 59.52 |
New Zealand Dollar | NZD | 164.75 | 169.63 |
Norwegians Krone | NOK | 25.42 | 25.68 |
Omani Riyal | OMR | 722.1 | 730.1 |
Qatari Riyal | QAR | 76.37 | 77.05 |
Singapore Dollar | SGD | 206 | 208 |
Swedish Korona | SEK | 25.72 | 26.02 |
Swiss Franc | CHF | 307.11 | 309.61 |
Thai Bhat | THB | 7.56 | 7.76 |
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