US Open Classics: Samantha Stosur vs Serena Williams, 2011 Final

Serena Williams of the United States questions the call of umpire Eva Asderakia

Now in the US Open final, she was facing Serena Williams, the epitome of ‘personality’ in front of a home crowd. The odds were heavily stacked against Stosur, to put it mildly, and I just hoped she would make a better match of it than Wozniacki had the other day against Serena.

But strangely, the final began with Serena looking extremely sluggish and detached in her play. Stosur, on the other hand, looked sharp and focused, and took the early lead. A couple of breaks later, Stosur suddenly had the first set wrapped up. In spite of this unexpected start, I was not too alarmed yet. Like everyone else, I was waiting for the Serena Moment to happen. She hadn’t been playing well in the match so far, but we knew from so many times in the past, that this is when Serena is at her most dangerous. When she digs into her passion, brings her ‘personality’ to the fore, and comes up with a victory after seemingly running on empty.

And the moment did come early in the second set. Serving at 30-40 in the opening game of the second set, Serena let loose on a powerful forehand, and immediately followed it up with a loud scream of “Come on!” The chair umpire promptly imposed a point penalty for deliberate verbal hindrance. This riled up Serena and she proceeded to embark on a sustained tirade at the chair umpire, including the famous “you are unattractive on the inside” comment. But more significantly, the incident had woken up the sleeping competitor in Serena.

She immediately sent down a couple of bullet serves and glares that indicated she now meant business. But as we waited for the inevitable turning of the tide, incredibly, it never arrived. Serena threw everything she had into the match, and the intensity of the contest suddenly sky-rocketed, but Sam Stosur held her nerve, and returned blow for heavy blow. Breaks were exchanged, and the longer she held on, the more diluted Serena’s attempt at a momentum rush became.

And soon, it was apparent that the worst was past and Stosur was in command of the match again. Personally, the best part about that period of play was that Stosur rode the Serena wave by being herself. There were no out-of-character attempts to pump herself up, no berating her box for an unforced error. She remained Cool Hand Luke right through, and let her racket do the talking, all the way to a memorable maiden Grand Slam title, in a convincing 6-2, 6-3 fashion.

In the couple of years since that night, things have not changed a great deal in the profiles of the two players. The 2011 US Open remains the only Major title for Samantha Stosur, she continues to exasperate with her mental blocks on big occasions, she remains a quiet, low-profile tennis professional, seemingly destined for a legacy in the second-tier of top women’s tennis. Serena Williams, on the other hand, has moved from strength to strength, and cemented her reputation as one of the greatest tennis players of all time. And given the stellar season she has had this year, we might not have even seen the best of her yet.

Their individual career graphs continue to emphasize the importance of mental toughness and a forceful personality on a tennis court today. But it is the rare occasion like the US Open final of 2011 that prevents us from conveniently stereotyping sports men and women. After all, even the most unassuming of players, on her day, could silence an entire stadium on the strength of her game alone.