Flavia Pennetta says her tears during her quarterfinal against Maria Sharapova were due to the emotions of the match, with the Italian taking a break following the first set and coming back to win, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Asked if everything was well off the court, Pennetta replied that it was, saying, "I'm really happy."
The defending Indian Wells champion saw her victory over the world No. 2 as an significant one. "Well, here I think it's really important for me, and tonight in the central court against Maria a lot of expectations," she said, but also noted that she does not usually get so emotional. "Like I never expect. I never do something like that. It just was the first time.
"I think I handled pretty good, because normally you go away and you don't want to stay on the court. But for me was important to just keep calm and try to play."
The break helped Pennetta gather herself, going off for "screaming, do something. Refresh a little bit and try to get in the court and start again."
Now in her thirties, Pennetta has retirement in her sights, but has not set any timeline. "I think to stop so many times already in my career. I always put like U.S. Open like a moment where I have to decide what to do, if keep playing or not," she said. "I mean, you are not 20 and you have so many time. It just you feel it's like almost there. But I don't know when. I cannot tell you when."