Sam Stosur wins US Open

Sam Stosur has won the 2011 US Open, defeating Serena Williams 6-2, 6-3 in the final at Flushing Meadows in New York.

It is the first tennis Grand Slam title for Stosur, and the first for an Australian woman since Evonne Goolagong Cawley in 1980 at Wimbledon.

Stosur’s straight sets upset victory stunned Williams, the home crowd and most tennis commentators who had virtually unanimously written the plucky Australian off before the match.

Williams came into the final in supreme form but appeared out of sorts and frustrated against a focussed and composed Stosur who bolted out of the gates to take the first set.

Controversy ensued in the second set when the umpire judged that Serena Williams had made a celebratory call on a winning shot before it was technically out, and awarded the point instead to Stosur.

The 13 time Grand Slam singles winner lost her temper, calling the umpire a “hater” and saying she (the umpire) was “unattractive inside”.

For the next few minutes the incident seemed to have fired Williams up as she and Stosur engaged in the most gripping rallies of the match.

But an unflappable Stosur was able to withstand the Williams power onslaught, falling to her knees as her winner passed the American and made her champion.

Before lifting the trophy aloft against a backdrop of fluttering Australian and US flags, the new US Open women’s singles title holder said, “I guess I had one of my best days.”

“It was a dream of mine to be here one day, ever since I knew what a Grand Slam was,” a beaming Stosur added before saluting her friends and family back home on Queensland’s Gold Coast.

Of her vanquished opponent Serena Williams, the Australian said, “You’ve done wonders for our sport, so thank you very much.”