Samantha Stosur outplayed three-time champion Serena Williams 6-2, 6-3 to win the US Open on Sunday, claiming the first Grand Slam title of her career in a stormy final.
Stosur kept her composure as Williams erupted in anger at the chair umpire in the second set, dominating the 13-time Grand Slam champion who had reached the final without dropping a set.
She became the first Australian woman to take the title in New York since Margaret Court in 1973 and the first to win a Grand Slam since Evonne Goolagong won Wimbledon in 1980.
Photo: Reuters
“I had one of my best days and I’m very fortunate that I had it on this stage in New York,” Stosur said. “Ever since I started playing it was a dream of mine to be here one day.”
Williams arrived in the final after dismantling world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki in the semi-finals on Saturday night in a match that dragged toward midnight.
“I was more tired than I expected, but I want to give all credit to Sam today ... She played really, really well. That’s what you have to do when you play a Grand Slam final,” Williams said.
Photo: AFP
Stosur, playing her second career Grand Slam final after a runner-up finish in the French Open last year, quickly claimed the opening set, breaking Williams to lead 2-1 and winning the last 12 points of the set as Williams’ frustration grew.
Williams, whose powerful serve is a cornerstone of her game, struggled to get her first serves in and Stosur repeatedly made her pay.
“She was cracking ’em today,” Williams said of the Australian, who was still rolling in the opening game of the second frame when she gave herself a double break point with a crushing return of serve.
Williams saved one with an ace and appeared to save another for deuce, but the American’s shout of “c’mon” as soon as she unleashed her forehand came before Stosur reached the ball and umpire Eva Asderaki immediately penalized Williams for “intentional hindrance” and the point and the game went to Stosur.
“Aren’t you the one who screwed me over last time?” Williams bellowed at Asderaki. “That is totally not cool.”
The scene recalled Williams’ similar meltdown in her 2009 semi-final defeat to Kim Clijsters.
In that match, she unleashed a tirade of abuse at a lineswoman who called a foot-fault during the tense match and a penalty point sealed her fate in a 6-4, 7-5 defeat.
This time an angry Williams — backed by a suddenly energized crowd in the 22,000-seat Arthur Ashe Stadium — immediately stepped up her game, breaking Stosur for 1-1 and holding to edge ahead 2-1.
Stosur remained aloof from the dispute, but admitted the crowd response was intimidating.
“It was probably the loudest I ever felt a crowd in my whole entire life,” Stosur said. “You’re right in the middle of it. It was definitely a quite overwhelming feeling, but once I hit that next ball in the court and started playing again, I felt settled.”
Williams continued to berate Asderaki on the changeover, but Stosur stayed calm and saved two break points in the fourth game to level the set at 2-2.
Stosur said she did not really know just what was happening between Williams and the umpire.
“I was just kind of there,” Stosur said. “I do know the rule, but it’s not something I’ve ever had to deal with before.”
She gained the edge with a break for 4-3 and broke again to seal the match with yet another blistering return off a Williams second serve on her third match point.
“I don’t really know what to say,” said Stosur, whose rugged path to the final included a third-round victory over Nadia Petrova that lasted a US Open women’s record 3 hours, 16 minutes and a marathon 17-15 tiebreak loss to Maria Kirilenko, before she rallied to beat the Russian.
“Thanks to everyone back home for supporting me. All my friends, family and everyone else, thanks so much for supporting me. I look forward to coming back home,” Stosur said.
Williams had voiced her eagerness to represent the US on the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks and she did her best to gloss over her burst of temper when it was all over.
“I was doing my best,” Williams said. “I hit a winner, but I guess it didn’t count ... But it wouldn’t have mattered anyway because she played really well.”
The 2025 International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB) Mr Universe Chinese Taipei competition began yesterday at Xinzhuang Gymnasium in New Taipei City, with more than 150 athletes showcasing their physiques. It is the first time in 16 years that the IFBB has held a competition in Taiwan, the last being the 2009 World Games in Kaohsiung. The professional bodybuilding contest is bringing together athletes from Taiwan and 16 other countries, including Malaysia, Japan, the US, France and Mexico. IFBB Chinese Taipei president Hsu An-chin said in an interview yesterday that the event came to Taiwan thanks to his lobbying efforts at last
Top seeds Alexander Zverev of Germany and American Coco Gauff on Tuesday advanced to the third round of the Canadian Open after both players were pushed hard by their opponents. World No. 3 Zverev, playing in his first match since his first-round loss at Wimbledon, was far from his best, but emerged with a 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 win over Adam Walton under the lights in Toronto. Momentum shifted firmly in Zverev’s favor when he won a 52-shot rally in the first set tiebreak and he sealed the win on a double fault by the Australian in the second set. “It was a very
Cycling great Marianne Vos won the opening stage of the women’s Tour de France with a brilliant late attack on Saturday. The 38-year-old Dutchwoman overtook her Visma–Lease a Bike teammate Pauline Ferrand-Prevot approaching the line, and then held off Mauritian rider Kim Le Court in the closing meters of a grueling uphill finish. Ferrand-Prevot looked set to win the stage, but the Frenchwoman attacked too early from 600m and could not withstand the late surge from Vos, who punched the air with her left fist as she crossed the line. Moments later, Vos hugged an exhausted-looking Ferrand-Prevot, the Paris-Roubaix winner. “I didn’t know if
US top seed Taylor Fritz dropped an early yesterday morning marathon to Alejandro Davidovich-Fokina of Spain, while the UK’s Emma Raducanu and Canada’s Leylah Fernandez reached the semi-finals of the ATP and WTA DC Open. World number four Fritz, two points from victory in the ninth game, dropped the last five games in falling to the 26th-ranked Spaniard 7-6 (7/3), 3-6, 7-5 after three hours and five minutes in a match ending just before 2am. Davidovich-Fokina advanced to the semi-final against US fourth seed Ben Shelton, who beat sixth-seeded hometown hero Frances Tiafoe 7-6 (7/2), 6-4. Fritz, who had 20 aces and six