SAMANTHA STOSUR Overcomes John McEnroe Cheerleading & Serena Williams Drama to Win US Open

PETE ZIEBRON

2011 US Open Champion Samantha Stosur                       Pete Ziebron Images

Samantha Stosur played confident and beautiful tennis today in New York at the US Open to defeat 13-time Grand Slam Champion Serena Williams 6-2 6-3 to win her 1st Major and 3rd career title.  For Australia and Stosur, this will be remembered as a breakthrough event, however the rest of the world will most likely view today's match as yet another unfortunate bout with infamy for Serena Williams.

After winning the final 12 points of the 1st set and the first point of the 2nd set on Williams serve, Stosur clipped the tape on a forehand and the ball went out.  Immediately CBS commentator John McEnroe started to communicate to fans in the stands at Ashe Stadium wearing earpieces, allowing them to listen to the audio portion of the American TV broadcast.  McEnroe: "Perhaps the crowd will help Serena here because she needs to energize."  Sure enough, the previously flat crowd started yelling their support for Williams.  Stosur however won the next 2 points to take a 15-40 lead on Williams' serve, encouraging McEnroe to try again with the crowd: "They're going to start to pull for her, the underdog Serena unbelievably, to get her back in the match!"

Serena Williams hit an ace on the next point to the delight of the crowd and McEnroe, with his octaves rising, continued in his attempt to whip the crowd into a frenzy of support for Williams: "There's the crowd waking up!  Will it wake Serena?"  And that's when Serena Williams decided to also take matters into her own hands with the crowd.

With Williams serving at 30-40, Stosur did well to return the powerful serve when Williams unleashed an explosive forehand down the right sideline into the corner.  As Stosur was attempting to block the ball back into play, Williams yelled "Come On!" prior to Stosur making contact with the ball.  McEnroe insisted several times that the call be considered a let, that the rule may need to be changed and also that Stosur should offer to replay the point.  Chair Umpire Eva Asderaki of Greece however made the correct call and awarded the point to Stosur, ending the 1st game of the 2nd set.  

Williams immediately walked to the chair and ranted her displeasure.  The Ashe Stadium crowd, not fully understanding the situation, sided with Williams (just as they have in the past when Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Andre Agassi or Andy Roddick have wrongly disputed calls with the Chair Umpire) as Stosur stood on the baseline waiting to serve.  Williams would break Stosur and hold serve, winning 8 of the next 12 points after she was assessed the point penalty to take a 2-1 lead in the set.  During the changeover, Williams continued blasting Umpire Eva Asderaki: "You're out of control.  You're a hater and you're just unattractive inside."  Williams continued with: "I get a code violation because I expressed who I am?  We're in America last I checked."

13-time Grand Slam Champion Serena Williams              Pete Ziebron Images

  The 2nd set continued on serve until Stosur broke Williams when she served at 3-3 and did not lose a game the rest of the way to clinch the Championship.  Stosur would break Williams 5 times on the day. Williams had only been broken 7 times in her previous 6 US Open matches.

Sam Stosur improved to 3-4 against Serena Williams and became the first Australian tennis player to win a Major since Lleyton Hewitt won Wimbledon in 2002.  Last year she appeared in the Roland Garros Final and lost to Francesca Schiavone.  Three weeks ago in Cincinnati, I asked Stosur what that experience at Roland Garros meant to her going forward: "I think the one major change was my belief in myself and that I'm able to do that and am capable of getting a result like that.  Since then, I always try and work hard in practice and do all the right things all the time."

Meanwhile Australia and their proud tennis history get to celebrate Sam Stosur and budding star Bernard Tomic on the ATP Tour.  In Cincinnati, I asked Stosur to expound on the future of Australian tennis going forward:  "Yeah, I think it's getting better and better.  We've got some good juniors coming through. The girls and boys champions at Wimbledon were both Australian, so I think that's a really promising thing to have. Hopefully they can keep improving. They will always push more and more."

• NOTE: Years ago, John McEnroe also used his position in the CBS broadcast booth to communicate with the Ashe Stadium crowd through their earpieces when Jennifer Capriati was playing a match.  McEnroe did not like that Capriati was standing too deep in the court on the return of serve and started to sound like a parrot, repeating over and over again "She's too deep." "She needs to move up."  Finally, McEnroe's illegal coaching advice worked as spectators along the baseline relayed the suggestion to Capriati who moved up into the court and would eventually win the match.