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by Philipina A. Marcelo
The wait is so worth it! Samantha Stosur signed on as a new member of the "elite circle" of champs in women's tennis via a straight-sets win over Serena Williams at Arthur Ashe. Sam lifted the US
Sam Stosur, 2011 US Open Champ. Open Women's Championship trophy this year... and she did it in a truly sensational way, too! What a way to win one's first Grand Slam!
Among the active women in tennis these days, I've always liked Sam Stosur, Kim Clijsters, Ana Ivanovic and Flavia Pennetta. Stosur is a fantastic tennis player - very talented - and, like the other three women, she seems to have a great personality as well. That's why it had been truly frustrating to see her often succumbing to nerves on big moments in her Grand Slam matches... and her bout with nerves had rendered her an inconsistent performer on court, too. But she's got the game of a champ - spectacular forehand, variety of shots, speed, athleticism, strength, good serve, the tenacity to track down balls all over the court... and she's so cool and smart. I thought she'll never get her chance to lift a Major silverware... but she's worked hard in the US Open this year. There was a huge improvement in her mental toughness and composure under pressure, allowing her big guns to dominate her game instead... and her opponents, too.
En route to the championship, she "murdered" the #2 in the World, Vera Zvonareva, in a slew of winners - 25 to Zvonareva's 9 - with 84% first-serve wins in their quarter-final meeting, which she won in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3! While her unforced errors (27) were almost as many as the winners she produced (30) in her semi-final match with Germany's Angelique Kerber, she held her nerves when they went even on set won, and went on to grab the third set to book a championship meeting with 13-time Grand Slam singles champion, Williams.
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The new champ is cool
Sam Stosur's forehand proved to be too much of a wild force for Serena Williams to handle. The Aussie sprayed the American with tremendous firepower early on in the first set... and the American was almost visibly shaken, committing 25 unforced errors - more than double of
In the zone. Stosur, unleashing the killer forehand.Sam's 12! Stosur was all-business, sending winners over the net that Williams could only follow with her eyes resignedly. The Aussie grabbed the first set in a convincing and decisive manner, 6-2.
In the second set, out of desperation, Williams sent a burgeoning shot to the corner, which Stosur tried to chase on wheeled feet. But before the play finished and Stosur still on the run, Williams celebrated the would-be point with a yell. The chair umpire nullified the play, warned Williams for unsportsmanlike behavior, and ruled to re-play the point. Williams went ballistic, of course - vintage Serena mental meltdown! *sigh* She approached the chair umpire and engaged the official in a heated debate... and when it was clear that the umpire was sticking to
Mental meltdown. Tsk, tsk... ah, Serena. her decision, Williams refused to re-play the point and conceded the point instead to Stosur... and she went about her frustrating way of defying an official like she did in her semi-final match with Kim Clijsters in the 2009 US Open, when she verbally abused a line official. *sigh* Aaargh, Serena!
Just like Kim Clijsters in 2009, Sam Stosur stayed calm in the midst of an ugly Serena mental meltdown and went on with her business. The Aussie refused to give anyone a reason to entertain doubt that she deserved to win the match. She showed that she is well-capable of winning remarkable points without a pathetic "donation" from Serena via an overruled winner. She continued to "kill" Serena with big forehand winners, to which Serena had no answer! Sam won the second set, and the championship, convincingly and admirably, 6-3!
AWESOME! Congratulations, Sam! Oy, oy, oy!
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The former champ went out of control... again.
As for Serena, well, she approached the net graciously and congratulated Stosur with a kiss on the cheek after the match... but she ignored the chair umpire - no handshake, nothing. Tsk, tsk...
Serena Williams is no doubt a talented champion... but her attitude makes it hard for so many tennis fans to appreciate her "brand of tennis". Alas, brilliance is not all that fans look for in sportsmen and women... conduct is part of one's "brand of sport", too. Afterall, sportsmanship is a part of any sport. And it is for this reason that talented champions like Serena Williams do not come to mind often when listing down "admired people" in sports. What a shame!
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Photo credits: All photos were grabbed from the Zimbio website - thanks.
