Sunday, March 16, 2014   Flavia Pennetta won 10 of the final 11 games en route to becoming the first Italian woman to ever win the Indian Wells title. Photo Source: Stephen Dunn/ Getty Things got off to a sluggish start for both Flavia Pennetta and Agnieszka Radwanska in their BNP Paribas Open final on Sunday, but once Pennetta broke the early 2-2 deadlock by hammering a too-hot-to-handle backhand at a net-rushing Radwanska, it was one-way traffic until the finish. Video: Flavia Pennetta Gets Water-Bombed by Fabio Fognini after Winning Indian Wells Pennetta would take ten of the final eleven games, a scintillating run to say the least, but it is worth it to mention that Radwanska was suffering from a mobility-reducing knee injury and was clearly not at 100 percent. After having the trainer retape the knee early in the second set, Radwanska’s situation did not improve, and she was easy pickings for the red-hot Italian, who showed no mercy en route to clinching her first Premier Mandatory title with the same bold, feisty tennis that landed Pennetta in the final this week. “For me, this is something I was waiting for a long time,” an overjoyed Pennetta told reporters after the match. Pennetta, who was ranked as low as 166 before Wimbledon last year, will now climb back to the cusp of the top ten at No. 12 in the world with the title, and that’s a major move, especially considering that the Italian revealed this week that she had considered retiring during the dark days that followed her six-month injury layoff due to wrist surgery. “Well, last year here exactly I was thinking to stop, and was really tough since Wimbledon. I had like bad year. I was trying to find the motivation and practice and everything…” Now, with a U.S. Open semifinal last year, an Australian Open quarterfinal this year, and today’s title, Pennetta can shelve her retirement plans and head to Miami with a clear shot at reaching the top ten for the first time since June of 2010.  This week she defeated three top 20 players, including top-seeded Li Na, and second-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska, to become to first Italian women in the history of the BNP Paribas Open to win the title. At 32, Pennetta also becomes only the second woman aged 30 or greater to win the title (Martina Navratilova, who did it twice, is the other). Afterwards, Pennetta had some well-deserved fun with the media, and of course, the Italian flag.

2014 @BNPPARIBASOPEN Singles Champion Flavia Pennetta #wta pic.twitter.com/EG4hAjdXkN — Kevin Fischer (@Kfish_WTA) March 16, 2014

And she didn’t hesitate to thank a certain someone that she called her “assistant coach.”

Assistant coach of the week!!! Really happy … Miami we come…