Stosur Ends Dry Spell For Australia

Written by: Staff on 11th September 2011

Stosur Ends Dry Spell For Australia

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Samantha Stosur today will be bidding to become the first Australian woman to win the US Open since Margaret Court won the last of her five women’s singles titles in 1973. Australians were a regular in the women’s singles final early in the Open Era, with at least Australian in the women’s singles final each year from 1972 to 1977

· Serena Williams has played in 16 previous Grand Slam finals in her decorated career; Samantha Stosur has played in one. By all accounts, Serena enters today’s final as an overwhelming favorite, but Stosur has made a career—and a tournament—of unlikely victories, returning from Lyme Disease and transitioning from a doubles specialist to one of the top singles players in the world. To see if she can go big serve to big serve and forehand to forehand with the 13-time Grand Slam tournament champion, go to USOpen.org for the pre-match analysis presented by Polo Ralph Lauren.

· In the early part of her career, Samantha Stosur was best known for her doubles play, reaching the finals at all four of the Grand Slam events and winning the French Open and Wimbledon doubles titles. In the last three years, however, she has remade herself as a singles standout, and yesterday she moved into the final of her second Grand Slam tournament—and first US Open—with a three-set victory over Angelique Kerber. The victory earns Stosur a place in today’s women’s singles final and the Day 13 honors as the Player of the Day presented by United Airlines.

(Courtesy of USTA)