US Open Final: An all-Italian affair

Last year, it was the men's semis that stunned, with the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds going down to a couple young upstarts. This year, it was the top two women who fell, though the pair who beat them would hardly be classified as either young or upstarts.

By the time the sun set on a historic Friday at Flushing Meadows, veteran Italian compatriots Flavia Pennetta, 33, and Roberta Vinci, 32, had somehow arranged a meeting in the US Open final. They're the two oldest first-time major finalists in the Open era, but that's the least of what they've accomplished.

How they got here

Pennetta started things off with a shockingly routine, straight-sets win over world No. 2 Simona Halep. Pennetta took control from the start and never wobbled, playing some of the most aggressive, fearless tennis of her career and finishing things off in under an hour.

Pennetta, who'd lost in the first round of two of the previous three majors and entered the US Open having won just two matches since the French Open, admitted she's contemplated retirement every year since undergoing wrist surgery in 2012.

And then, somehow, Vinci managed to one-up her countrywoman, coming from a set down to stun Serena Williams, ending the world No. 1's calendar Slam bid in one of the most rousing and inconceivable upsets in tennis history.

Vinci, who'd never even played in a major semi and whose odds of winning the tournament weren't even listed before it began, hadn't beaten a top-10 opponent in nearly a year. When asked at what point she believed she could actually beat Serena, she answered, "Never."

It was surreal, unfathomable, unforgettable; a day for the ages. The question we're left to ponder is: What happens now?

Will anyone care?

With Serena gunning for the calendar Slam, this was the most buzzed-about women's tournament in memory. Viewership soared, cresting with Serena's quarterfinal win over her sister, Venus. As far as outside interest goes, a final with her in it would've been virtually unprecedented. Without her, all that accumulated interest threatens to fall off a cliff.

Underdog triumphs are part of what makes the sports world go round, and Friday produced two spectacular ones - Vinci's ranking among the most staggering ever seen. But the fallout of an upset can also prove grim. If the secondary ticket market is any indication, interest in the final has already waned considerably.

According to ESPN's Darren Rovell, before the Vinci-Serena match began, the average listed price for a finals ticket on the resale market was $1,412, with the price of admission bottoming out at $271. Just 20 minutes after the match ended, the average resale price had already sunk to $680, with a get-in price of $40.

The all-Italian final is historic in its own right. It just isn't the history the folks in New York were willing to shell out thousands of dollars to witness.

Why you should care

It should be a fun match!

Fun and unique, and interesting, and emotional.

It features two longtime friends, experiencing a moment in the sun they never thought would come and may well never come again. It features two distinct styles of tennis: Pennetta's simple, flat, angular power game and Vinci's variegated, deceptive, spin-heavy melange.

The two haven't played in two years, but their career head-to-head is an even one, with Pennetta holding a 5-4 edge. Pennetta has played better throughout the tournament, and has been better historically as a singles player, but Vinci is arguably riding the bigger high. There isn't a whole lot to separate them.

Only one thing is certain.

"Tomorrow," said Vinci, after her earth-shattering victory, "one Italian wins for sure."