Roberta Vinci code cracks the Serena Williams slam

Serena Williams suffered one of the greatest shocks in tennis history as unseeded Italian Roberta Vinci ended the American’s hopes of a calendar grand slam with a stunning victory in the US Open semi-finals.

Vinci, ranked 43rd in the world, had never gone further than the quarter-finals of a major tournament before but the 32-year-old came from a set down to beat Williams 2-6 6-4 6-4.

It means Williams’ run of 33 consecutive grand slam victories comes to an end while Vinci will play fellow Italian Flavia Pennetta in today’s final.