It wasn't exactly a lucky day for Italian fourth seed Sara Errani as she lost her second round match to veteran compatriot Flavia Pennetta 6-3, 6-1, becoming the first top-10 singles player to be knocked out of the US Open.
"I don't know. I think it was the pressure. Everything is difficult for me," said Errani after the match Thursday. The World No.5 was seeded fourth after Russian Maria Sharapova's withdrawal, reports Xinhua.
"I know all the players are expecting from me," said Errani.
The 83rd-ranked Pennetta wasn't an ideal opponent for Errani as the 31-year-old had won three of the previous five meetings against Errani. The match went into rhythm for Pennetta from the first game where Errani made several unforced errors. Errani broke back in the second but Pennetta won four straight games to establish a 5-1 lead and took the first set 6-3.
Errani was unable to recover in the second set, dropping five straight games after 1-1 to lose the match.
"I'm not the kind of player who can go there and make ace and winner and if the ball is going in I'm doing good. For me it is to go there and fight. If I feel that I'm not fighting good due to pressure, for not feeling good with myself doing that because I don't want to go on the court," said Errani about her play style.