Flavia Pennetta ready for second serve

Flavia Pennetta, the Italian who ended her WTA career with the American Dream — winning the US Open — is excited about her second innings in life, both professionally and personally.

“To finish my career by winning the US Open was something I never dreamt of. I always wanted to win a Grand Slam singles title, a wish that never came true until I won the US Open. I couldn’t have asked for more to be honest. It was a pleasant surprise,” Flavia, who is representing Mumbai Tennis Masters in the ongoing Champions Tennis League said in an exclusive telephonic interview to this newspaper.

The retired player had one more surprise waiting for her before the start of the match. Her fiancé, Fabio Fognini, flew down to New York right before the title clash against compatriot, Roberta Vinci. “It was a great gesture by Fabio to fly down for the final and surprise me. He is the love of my life and for him to be there with me, at that moment, was just surreal,” the 33-year-old said.

Recollecting her final moments at Flushing Meadows as a player, she said, “I had told myself that I would retire after the event (US Open) but did not tell anyone. After I won the match, I told Roberta at the net that ‘I am retiring.’ She was shocked and asked me to reconsider before I announced it. But I had already decided and she eventually respected it.”

There was a typical Italian flair — smiles, warmth, admiration and respect — between the two players at the presentation. When asked about the camaraderie they both share she said, “Myself and Roberta go way back. I played my first girls’ singles title clash against Roberta and my last Grand Slam final was also against her. We also played doubles together and have been practising with each other for ages now. She stays just a kilometre away from my house. She is a very dear friend, both on and off the court hence you could see the mutual respect and admiration that night.”

Now that she has retired, what’s next “For now, nothing. I would just like to put my feet up and rest. After January or February the feeling of a retired professional will sink in. Once that sinks in I shall decide to do something,” she said.

How about a career in modelling “Me Modelling No (laughs). I don’t think I have been made for modeling. But if I get to do photo shoots, why not! That is something I would love to do,” Flavia said.

On her second innings in her personal life — she had a painful break-up with former tennis player Carlos Moya — she said, “Fabio has been wonderful. He has been there during my hard and best times. I owe a lot to him as well. He is such a sweetheart. He is caring and a wonderful person to be with.”

Flavia, who hails from Brindisi, the southern part of Italy, loves food and does not hold herself back from trying new cuisines. “I love food. Thanks to tennis I have travelled around the world and tried all types of food. Since I come from southern part of Italy, where we have spicy food, I have developed a taste for Indian food as well. But my favourite remains Italian,” the 2014 Australian Open quarterfinalist said.

Does the foodie cook as well “Oh I love cooking. It is a stress-buster for me. At home, Fabio and I have a deal. He cooks breakfast while I take care of lunch and dinner. He also cooks really well I must admit,” the former doubles World No.1 said.

Talking about the CTL, she said, “I was told by my friends who had played in the inaugural edition of the event that it was fun. And when I was asked to play I grabbed the opportunity with both hands. The journey has been good so far. We had an opportunity to travel to Mumbai and Chandigarh and did a lot of shopping for my family and friends,” the Mumbai Masters’ player said.

“The Indian kids — Sriram Balaji, Dhruv Sunish and Mihika Yadav — with the team are nice. We train together. It is a good experience for them to watch professional players train from close quarters which will help them improve their game,” she said.