Flavia Pennetta wins U.S. Open before retiring

Flavia Pennetta produced the biggest accomplishment of her tennis career and then announced her retirement.

Pennetta defeated countrymate Roberta Vinci 7-6 (4), 6-2 on Saturday to win the U.S. Open title in New York and become the second Italian woman to win a Grand Slam title.

Shortly after becoming the oldest first-time Grand Slam singles winner in the Open era, the 33-year-old Pennetta revealed her retirement plans.

"Before I started this tournament one month ago, I took a big decision in my life," Pennetta said. "This is the way I would like to say goodbye to tennis."

Vinci was attempting to follow up her stunning semifinal upset of American Serena Williams on Friday. But she was unable to summon another standout effort.

Pennetta, seeded 26th, seized control of the match with the tense victory in the first set. Vinci saved six break opportunities in the fifth game before finally having her serve broken and eventually losing in a tiebreaker.

The second set belonged to Pennetta as she won the first four games. The winning point came on a forehand shot and Pennetta tossed her racket in the air and initially appeared stunned that she has won her first Grand Slam title.

"I'm really happy right now," Pennetta said while still on the court. "I have to say before this tournament I didn't think I could be the champion here. I' m really happy. This one for me is one of my favorite tournaments. I've always played good here. It's a dream come true."

Pennetta clarified that she would continue playing tennis the rest of this year before officially retiring.

The men's final will be contested Sunday between Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. Djokovic, ranked No. 1 in the world, is seeking his 10th Grand Slam title and Federer is attempting to win his 18th.