Over the past 12 months, Serena Williams has proved untouchable at Grand Slam tournaments, with her current streak reaching 33 successive victories ahead of her US Open semi-final with Roberta Vinci. However, on this day four years ago, the younger Williams sibling not only suffered just her fourth defeat in a major final, but she also hit the headlines for her conduct during her encounter with Samantha Stosur.
Williams had not long returned from almost a year on the sidelines, but ahead of her attempt to win a fourth crown at Flushing Meadows, she had won 19 matches in a row on hard courts. That run included several notable scalps on the way to reaching the final in New York, with the likes of Victoria Azarenka, Ana Ivanovic and Caroline Wozniacki all being defeated along the way.
As for Stosur, she had failed to go past the third round of a major in 2011, with last-32 appearances at the Australian Open and Roland Garros being followed by a shock first-round exit to Melinda Czink at Wimbledon. Nevertheless, the Australian had prepared for the final Grand Slam of the year by reaching the Rogers Cup final in Canada, beating second seed Vera Zvonareva before eventually running into Williams in the tournament's showpiece.
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Heading into the match, Stosur had recorded two wins over Serena in their previous six meetings, which was relatively respectable given that the American was a 13-time major winner, but in the third game, Stosur showed that she was unnerved by the occasion by breaking her opponent's serve. She missed a second chance in the fifth game, but she soon made amends by recording a second break with a well-struck return that Williams couldn't handle. The crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium were in shock, but it was nothing compared to what was about to transpire at the start of the next set.
Stosur continued her offence to create two break points before seemingly seeing both saved by Serena. However, after Williams had shouted "Come on!" before Stosur had returned the ball on the second break point, the ninth seed was awarded the point, and the break, resulting in a verbal tirade from Williams towards the umpire. After receiving a code violation, Serena shouted: "Don't even look at me. If you ever see me walking down the hall, look the other way. A code violation for expressing my opinion, we're in America. Why would you do such a thing. You're a hater. You're unattractive inside. Loser."
Serena broke back and had three break points in Stosur's next service game, but despite facing a fired-up opponent and a hostile crowd who felt as though the hometown player had been hard done by, the underdog saved them all, before proceeding to break Williams in the seventh game. A quite remarkable 30 minutes had concluded with Stosur being two service games away from winning her first Grand Slam title, which soon became one when she held comfortably to 15.
Williams was serving to remain in the match but she soon fell to 15-40, gifting Stosur the chance of glory. An indecisive lob and a shot into the net allowed Williams to remain in the match, but after a third match point was created, Stosur ran around a second serve to crunch a return winner past her opponent to record a 6-2 6-3 victory and with it, one of the biggest shocks in the history of major finals.
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After the match, Stosur said: "I had one of my best days and I'm very fortunate that I had it on this stage in New York. Ever since I started playing it was a dream of mine to be here one day. I don't really know what to say. Serena, you are a fantastic player, great champion and have done wonders for our sport. Thanks to everyone back home for supporting me. All my friends, family and everyone else, thanks so much for supporting me. I look forward to coming back home."
As for Williams, she opted to focus her post-match thoughts on her recovery from injury and illness by saying: "Six months ago in the hospital I couldn't even stand up, but thanks to my parents and sisters and everyone else I'm here. I'm emotional, I might start crying. I'm happy to be here, it's really good." The next day, she received a fine of just £1,265 for her mid-match rant.
Since the defeat, Williams has gone on to establish herself as arguably the greatest player to ever grace the women's game after adding another eight Grand Slam titles to her collection in 15 attempts. As for Stosur, she has struggled to come close to repeating her success, reaching the last four of a Grand Slam - the French Open in 2012 - just once, while also being knocked out of the last dozen majors before the quarter-finals.
Darren Plant
