JOIN USDominant Stosur flattens Serena
The 27-year-old became the first Australian woman in 38 years to win the title when she upset a heavily-fancied but ultimately petulant Williams 6-2, 6-3, in an ill-tempered final that could land the American in more trouble.
Rather than being a memorable American corononation marking the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, instead this final will be remembered for another ugly outburst from the younger of the Williams sisters.
“I definitely wanted to win today all because of 9/11,” Williams said. “As the last American left, I kinda wanted to do well, but it didn’t work out the way I planned.”
The three-time champion had been an overwhelming favourite to win Sunday night’s showpiece but failed to produce her best on one of the biggest occasions in tennis, then took her frustrations out on the officials, earning a code violation for an outburst reminiscent of her tirade at Flushing Meadows two years ago.
Her angry display threatened to overshadow a brilliant performance from Stosur, who played the match of her life to defeat the most formidable player of her generation and capture her first Grand Slam title, spoiling American hopes of a home-bred champion on the emotional night.
“I had one of my best days and I’m very fortunate that I had it on this stage in New York,” Stosur said during an on-court interview.
“Ever since I started playing it was a dream of mine to be here one day. I don’t really know what to say. Serena, you are a fantastic player, great champion and have done wonders for our sport.”
Williams, bidding for a fourth US Open crown, looked tired and ragged from the outset after sailing into the final without dropping a set but her semifinal win over world number one Caroline Wozniacki did not finish until just before midnight on Saturday, about 18 hours before the final.
She let her frustrations boil over and throughout the second set repeatedly argued with the chair umpire. While Williams berated the official, Stosur remained a model of composure. Stosur dominated the match from the start and fully deserved her win, played in front of a raucous Arthur Ashe stadium crowd.
Stosur, one of the fittest and biggest-hitting players in the women’s game, put Williams under pressure from the beginning with some thunderbolt returns that pinned the American behind the baseline and attacked her backhand, forcing her to make errors.
Stosur broke Williams’ serve twice in the first set, which she wrapped up in 31 minutes, then three times in the second while losing her own serve once. Stosur, seeded ninth, became the first Australian woman to win the US Open title since Margaret Court in 1973. The last Australian woman to win any Grand Slam was Evonne Goolagong-Cawley at Wimbledon in 1980.
Stosur, who for the early part of her career was better known as a doubles player, emerged as Australia’s best prospect in years when she made the final at the French Open last year but lost to Italy’s Francesca Schiavone.
Liezel-Lisa triumph
The American pair of Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond won the US Open women’s doubles title on Sunday with a 4-6, 7-6, 7-6 victory over defending champions Vania King, of the US, and Kazakhstan’s Yaroslava Shvedova.
Huber and 38-year-old Raymond did it the hard way. They saved a match point in the second set then won two nerve-wracking tiebreaks to seal the title.