Last weekend had it all: opening week of the NFL, tightening MLB pennant races and a host of college football games.
But probably most entertaining of all was Sunday evening”s U.S. Open women”s final between American Serena Williams and Australian Samantha Stosur. This match meant everything to tennis fans in two countries struggling to regain success in the sport.
On one side was Williams, continuing her comeback to Grand Slam tennis after more than a year dealing with a myriad of injuries and seeking her 14th career major title.
On the other was Stosur, who had just one previous Grand Slam singles final appearance (a loss at the 2010 French Open) and came into this year”s U.S. Open fresh off an awful first-round loss at Wimbledon.
Stosur also had the weight of a country that hadn”t seen a Grand Slam champion since Lleyton Hewitt in 2002 or a women”s champion in more than 30 years.
The odds and history were on Williams” side going into Sunday”s final, but those advantages faded within the first 30 minutes. Williams, who had rolled into the final without dropping a set, lost the first set in the final 6-2.
Stosur dominated early, breaking Williams” serve almost at will and holding her own serve just as easily. As the second set began, Williams found herself down a break point at 30-40, needing a huge shot to turn the match around.
And that”s where the drama (and great television) really began.
Williams hit a good serve to set up a big cross-court forehand for an apparent winner. She yelled, “Come on!” seconds after her stroke, probably thinking the point was over. But Stosur ran the ball down and barely got a racket on it after Williams shouted mid-point.
The chair umpire ruled Williams hindered Stosur by shouting before the point ended and awarded the Australian the point, which gave her a break and early lead in the second set.
Williams, some of the on-air commentators and the majority of the New York crowd thought the point should”ve been replayed as a let. The umpire, however, chose to follow the letter of the law.
Though controversial, the umpire made the right call. Williams shouldn”t have shouted like she did: the ball bounced at least a foot inside the sideline and Stosur is one of the quickest women on the tour, so Williams should”ve known Stosur might get to the ball.
Whether she intended to hinder Stosur is irrelevant because tennis rules and ethics are clear about yelling in the middle of a point. Williams made a stupid decision that she should have known could cost her the point.
Williams soon berated the chair umpire during changeovers, saying things like “don”t look at me” and “you”re a hater, and you”re just unattractive inside.” Of course these actions occurred while Williams was still on probation for saying she felt like stuffing a tennis ball down a lineswoman”s throat during the 2009 U.S. Open.
Williams ultimately got a $2,000 fine for verbally abusing the umpire Sunday, but disappointing play throughout the second set ended up costing her hundreds of thousands of dollars in the end.
Williams immediately broke Stosur in the next game, held her own serve to lead 2-1 and seemed to have Stosur on the ropes in the next service game. The crowd was almost entirely on Williams” side, wanting to see the American get back in the match.
But the gritty Australian held on and tied the set at 2-2. Then, the unforced errors began to pile up again for Williams and any advantage she gained from the emotional outburst disappeared.
Stosur soon recaptured the momentum by breaking Williams twice more in the second set and won the match in straights, 6-2, 6-3.
Really, Stosur dominated the entire match, mainly because of her great serve and explosive forehand. Then again, Williams” inadequate play helped Stosur because she kept racking up unforced errors and feeding Stosur”s forehand too often.
The women”s final provided so much entertainment for such a one-sided, straight-sets victory. There was the underdog drubbing the huge favorite, Australia”s return to the top of Grand Slam tennis, and the meltdown of a great champion.
I really hope the two match up in a few months at the Australian Open because something tells me the fireworks will again erupt if Williams gets the chance to return the favor in Stosur”s home Grand Slam.
Jeremy Walsh is a staff reporter for Lake County Publishing. He can be reached at 263-5636 ext. 37 or jwalsh@record-bee.com.
