Pennetta bows out after magical year

Italy's Flavia Pennetta said arrivederci to women's tennis on Thursday after defeat to Maria Sharapova at the WTA Finals ended her bid for one last fairy tale to cap an already magical final year in the game.

The 33-year-old Italian, who landed her first Grand Slam singles title with a shock victory at the US Open last month, needed only to win a set against the Russian to advance to the semifinals of the eight-player end-of-season championships.

But Sharapova was in no mood for sentimentality, and the Russian fought back from a break down in the first set to claim a 7-5, 6-1 win and earn a place in the last four, along with Agnieszka Radwanska, who had lost to the Italian in round-robin play on Tuesday.