When Roberta Vinci stumbled out of Wimbledon 2015 with a first-round loss to world No.82 Aleksandra Krunic, there was no sign the Italian would soon write the most significant chapter in her tennis story.
At her next major event, Vinci progressed all the way to the US Open semi-finals, where she stunned Serena Williams to end the world No.1’s hopes of a calendar-year Grand Slam. Halting Serena’s 33-match winning streak which had incorporated the American’s sixth Wimbledon title, it was arguably the most momentous upset in recent tennis history.
With her name firmly etched into the memory bank of every tennis trivia buff, Vinci could easily have been defined by that one performance. Instead, the career-best run became a springboard to even more milestones in the twilight of her career.
Since then, the 33-year-old has hit double figures on her WTA title count, her 10th tournament victory occurring on the hard courts of St Petersburg earlier this year. She’s also arrived at a rankings peak, here at the All England Club with a world No.7 ranking.
A first round victory over Alison Riske on the All England Club’s No.3 Court was far from the most spectacular passage of the Vinci story. Rather, it was a hard-fought win over an opponent ranked 73 places lower and aged seven years younger, the Italian needing all her experience to secure the 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 victory.
“I’m happy. Finally I won a match here in Wimbledon,” said Vinci, who hasn’t survived a first round singles match at the All England Club since 2013, one of two years in which she advanced to the final 16. “(The) first round is always tough. My opponent today was a great player, especially on this surface.”
Establishing some early authority was thus important for Vinci, who claimed the 36-minute first set by breaking the Riske serve three times and surrendering just one break of her own. More important still was remaining calm as Riske became increasingly competitive, the American forcing the match into a third set, where she soon established a 3-1 lead.
But as Vinci became more aggressive, Riske’s ground strokes started to unravel. Registering 22 winners against 33 unforced errors, the Italian claimed the last five games to complete the match in two hours and five minutes.
“I'm try(ing) to play aggressive, try to play my game,” explained Vinci, acknowledging the difficulties in closing out the win. “At the end, I was a little bit nervous. A lot of match point saved. But I'm happy. Finally I won.”
Having booked a second round match with Chinese lucky loser Duan Ying-Ying, who advanced with 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 win over Kristyna Pliskova, Vinci can justifiably feel more confidence in her 11th singles campaign at the All England Club – especially given the personal high with which she entered the 2016 Championships.
There are both positives and negatives in those increased expectations. “Sometimes yes. Sometimes (there) is a lot of pressure,” Vinci admitted when asked if she was feeling as confident as she has ever felt in her career.
Even so, Vinci is in the best possible position as she targets another inspired Grand Slam run. “I'm the top 10. I'm No.6 (seed). I'm so happy. I play today on Court No.3, a good court. Of course, I'm happy. I like to enjoy this tournament, of course, try my best. Every single match will be tough. But step by step.”
Or chapter by chapter you might say, given the many plot twists Vinci has delivered in a professional career now spanning more than 15 years. It may be epic already, but you can’t help sensing that in her 47th Grand Slam campaign, the Vinci story is still unfolding.
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