Roberta Vinci finally cracks world's top 10 following US Open final appearance

The Italian celebrated by beating Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko 6-2, 6-1 at the Qatar Total Open

Roberta Vinci (GETTY IMAGES)

Until last year Roberta Vinci thought that her chance of making the world’s top 10 had gone for good, but the 33-year-old Italian is one of sport’s late bloomers and today’s updated ranking list showed that she had finally reached her goal.

Vinci, who celebrated her achievement by beating Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko 6-2, 6-1 here in the first round of the Qatar Total Open, made her debut on the main women’s tour 15 years ago. There were times when she threatened to make a major breakthrough, but that did not happen until last year with her remarkable performances at the US Open. Vinci beat Serena Williams in the semi-finals before going on to lose to her friend and fellow Italian, Flavia Pennetta, in the final.

That run was a huge boost to Vinci’s confidence and earlier this month she won a tournament in St Petersburg, beating Belinda Bencic in the final, to claim the tenth title of her career and her first for three years.

Although she lost first time out in Dubai last week, to Yaroslava Shvedova, Vinci was too strong here for Tsurenko, the world No 34. In the second round Vinci will meet Russia’s Daria Kasatkina.

“It's always tough to play in the first round,” Vinci said. “It was so windy. The court is a little bit strange. Sometimes it's fast, sometimes it's slow. It was completely different to Dubai last week.”

Vinci admitted that one year ago she could not have expected to break into the world’s top 10. She started 2015 ranked No 44 in the world and went into the US Open at the end of the summer ranked only one place higher.

“Of course three or four years ago I was No 11 in the world and I had a lot of chances to be top 10, but I never made it,” she said. “I didn't expect it, but I try hard and I work hard. And now I'm pretty happy.”

So what has made the difference in recent months? “Nothing changed in my team,” Vinci said. “But of course after the US Open my life has changed a little bit. I reached my first Grand Slam final at the US Open, I beat Serena and then I played well in China. Step by step. I'm in confident mood. I'm good. That's why probably I'm in the top 10 right now.”

Sara Errani, another Italian, celebrated one of the best victories of her career when she won the Dubai title last week but made a slow start here before beating Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova 1-6, 7-5, 6-3.

Caroline Wozniacki also made a laboured start against Croatia’s Ana Konjuh, losing the first three games, but rallied to win a gruelling contest 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 after more than two and a half hours. Wozniacki will now play Australia’s Daria Gavrilova, who crushed Misaki Doi 6-1, 6-1.