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Samantha Stosur

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Samantha Stosur
Stosur at the 2009 US Open
Country (sports) Australia
ResidenceBrisbane, Queensland
Born (1984-03-30) 30 March 1984 (age 40)
Brisbane, Queensland
Height1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Turned pro1999
PlaysRight (two-handed backhand)
Prize money$11,887,954
Singles
Career record403–276
Career titles3 WTA, 4 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 4 (21 February 2011)
Current rankingNo. 9 (4 February 2013)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open4R (2006, 2010)
French OpenF (2010)
Wimbledon3R (2009)
US OpenW (2011)
Other tournaments
Tour FinalsSF (2010, 2011)
Doubles
Career record344–163
Career titles23 WTA, 11 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 1 (6 February 2006)
Current rankingNo. 91 (4 February 2013)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenF (2006)
French OpenW (2006)
WimbledonF (2008, 2009, 2011)
US OpenW (2005)
Other doubles tournaments
Tour FinalsW (2005, 2006)
Olympic Games2R (2008)
Mixed doubles
Career titles2
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian OpenW (2005)
French OpenSF (2005)
WimbledonW (2008)
US Open2R (2008)
Last updated on: 28 January 2013.

Samantha "Sam" Jane Stosur (/ˈstoʊzər/STOH-zər; born 30 March 1984) is an Australian professional tennis player, well-known for her powerful serve, which is among the best in women's tennis, and groundstrokes. She is a former World No. 1 in doubles.

Stosur has won a total of five Grand Slam titles to date; one in singles at the 2011 U.S. Open; two in women's doubles; and two in mixed doubles. She was also a finalist at the singles event at the 2010 French Open.

Early life

Stosur was born in Brisbane, Queensland, the daughter of Tony and Diane, and has two brothers, Dominic and Daniel.[1] She is of Polish descent through her grandfather.[2] When she was six, the family house and business on the Gold Coast was destroyed by a flood, and the family moved to Adelaide.[3] There she started playing tennis, when she was given a racquet for Christmas at the age of eight. While her parents worked long hours at the cafe they had started, Stosur played at local courts with older brother Daniel, who later encouraged their parents to take her to tennis lessons.[4] Stosur attended Helensvale State High School on the Northern Gold Coast and Gaven State School.[5] She went away on her first overseas trip at the age of 13, competing in the World Youth Cup in Jakarta, Indonesia.[1]

At the age of 14, Stosur joined the Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS) under Geoff Masters. In 2001, when she was 16, she joined the Australian Institute of Sport tennis program.[1]

Tennis career

Early career

Stosur first played professional tennis in 1999 on the ITF circuit. She debuted on the Women's Tennis Association tour in 2000, losing in the first qualifying round of the Australian Open. In 2001 she won four straight ITF titles. In 2002 she lost in the first round at the Gold Coast event.

In 2003, Stosur won her first WTA singles matches, reaching the third round of the Australian Open. She lost in the third round to no. 7 seed, Daniela Hantuchová. She also qualified for a WTA event in Memphis.

In 2004, Stosur reached the semifinals of the Gold Coast event, before falling to Ai Sugiyama. The next week, she reached the second round of the WTA tournament in Hobart, then the second round of the Australian Open. She later qualified for WTA events in Acapulco, Indian Wells, Vienna and Birmingham. Stosur competed at the Athens Olympics, where she lost in the first round. She continued to play WTA qualifying events, qualifying for the Japan Open and Bali in the autumn of 2004. At the end of the 2004 season, Stosur reached the doubles final in Québec City, partnered with Els Callens from Belgium.

2005

In 2005 Stosur reached her first WTA tour final at her home event in Gold Coast, losing to Patty Schnyder. She was runner-up at the Sydney event, defeating by walkover the world no. 1 Lindsay Davenport in the quarterfinal and Elena Dementieva in the semifinal, before losing to fellow Australian Alicia Molik, and won her first doubles title partnering Australian Bryanne Stewart at the same tournament. Stosur lost to world no. 2 Amélie Mauresmo in the first round of the Australian Open, but won the mixed doubles title with Scott Draper over Liezel Huber and Kevin Ullyett.

In July, she teamed up with American Lisa Raymond, winning seven WTA doubles titles before the end of the year, including the U.S. Open, the Kremlin Cup, and the WTA Tour Championships. Stosur finished the year ranked no. 46 in singles and no. 2 in doubles.

2006

Stosur during the 2006 Hopman Cup, Perth, Australia

In 2006 Stosur represented Australia alongside Todd Reid at the Hopman Cup, winning all of her singles matches. She then lost in the first round in N.S.W. Open/Medibank International to Czech Nicole Vaidišová in three sets.

At the Australian Open, Stosur made it to the fourth round in singles, falling to Martina Hingis. She and Lisa Raymond also made it to the women's doubles final, where they were defeated by Chinese duo Yan Zi and Zheng Jie.

After losing in Melbourne, Stosur and Raymond won 18 straight matches, winning titles in Tokyo, Memphis, Indian Wells, and Miami. They also won in Charleston, at the French Open, and the WTA Tour Championships.

On 28 August, Stosur achieved a career-high ranking of number 30, after reaching the semifinals at New Haven, where she lost to Lindsay Davenport in two tiebreakers. She finished off the year winning the doubles title at the WTA Tour Championships in Madrid, ranked no. 1 in doubles and a career-high to that point no. 29 in singles.

2007

Stosur and Lisa Raymond successfully defended their doubles titles in Tokyo, Indian Wells, and Miami. The pair also won the German Open in Berlin. In singles, Stosur reached three quarterfinals, at Gold Coast, Tokyo, and Memphis. In Rome, she defeated first seed Amélie Mauresmo in the second round, saving two match points, before losing to Patty Schnyder in the following round.

After the French Open, Stosur started showing symptoms of what would only after months be diagnosed as Lyme disease, an infection transmitted by the bite of ticks. By then, her form had slumped. She lost in the second round at Wimbledon, withdrew from many tournaments on the US hardcourt circuit, and lost in the first round of the U.S. Open, where she was seeded 29th, to the then ranked no. 96 Alizé Cornet of France. Stosur did not play any more tournaments in 2007.

2008

Stosur returned playing two ITF tournaments before the 2008 Rome Masters in May, where she was defeated in the second round by Venus Williams. The tournament also saw the return of the doubles team of Stosur and Lisa Raymond with a second round loss. Less than a month later, they were defeated in the third round of the 2008 French Open, where Stosur reached the second round in singles, losing to Petra Kvitová.

Stosur showed great promise at Wimbledon; while only making the second round in singles, losing to Nicole Vaidišová, she made the finals of both the ladies and mixed doubles. She and Lisa Raymond lost the final to Venus and Serena Williams. The Williams sisters had just played against each other in the final of the ladies singles. With mixed doubles partner Bob Bryan, Stosur defeated Mike Bryan and Katarina Srebotnik to win the title.

At the Beijing Olympics, Stosur was defeated in the second round of the singles tournament by no. 4 seed Serena Williams. In doubles, Stosur (formerly ranked no. 1) partnered Rennae Stubbs, ranked no. 5 at the time; however, the pair were unseeded because the ITF determined the seedings for the doubles competition based on both singles and doubles rankings standings. The pair lost in the second round to the Spanish team of Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual, who were then ranked no. 2.

At the US Open, Stosur lost in the first round of singles to seventh seed Venus Williams. She and Mahesh Bhupathi were eliminated in the second round of the mixed doubles competition by Rennae Stubbs and Robert Lindstedt. Raymond and Stosur were runners-up at the women's doubles event, losing to the top ranked team of Cara Black and Liezel Huber.

By the end of the year Stosur was ranked no. 52 in the WTA singles rankings, 110 spots above her ranking in June. In spite of missing the first 4 1/2 months of the tour, Raymond and Stosur finished the season as the seventh best team at the Race to the Sony Ericsson Championships, with Stosur ranked no. 14 in doubles, 156 positions higher than she was when she returned to playing on the ITF circuit.

2009

Stosur (left) with doubles partner Rennae Stubbs at 2009 Australian Open

In her first tournament of the year, Stosur fell to Lucie Šafářová in the second round of the Brisbane International. At the Medibank International, she was defeated by no. 1 seed Serena Williams, 6–3, 6–7, 7–5. Seeded fourth in doubles, the pair of Stosur and Rennae Stubbs lost to Peng Shuai and Hsieh Su-wei in the first round of the tournament. Stosur lost in the third round to world no. 4 Elena Dementieva, 7–6, 6–4. She also won through to the third round in doubles, partnering Stubbs, defeating the Radwańska sisters 6–1, 6–4. However, they then lost to eventual champions Venus and Serena Williams, 4–6, 2–6.

In the Fed Cup Asia/Oceanic Zone competition, Stosur won four matches against various opponents from South Korea, Thailand, and Chinese Taipei. The Australian team, which also included Casey Dellacqua and Jelena Dokić, advanced to the World Group II play-offs, winning all of its twelve rubbers.

At the Dubai Tennis Championships, Stosur was defeated in the second round by Zheng Jie. Together with Stubbs, she was ousted in the semifinals of the doubles competition by the world no.1 team of Cara Black and Liezel Huber, 4–6, 4–6.

In Indian Wells, Stosur was eliminated in the second round by Agnieszka Radwańska 6–3, 3–6, 5–7. In doubles, Stosur lost to Vera Zvonareva and Victoria Azarenka in the second round 2–6, 6–3, 7–10. At the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Stosur defeated no. 2 seed Dinara Safina in the third round, 6–1, 6–4. Safina would have reached the no. 1 ranking had she won the match. She lost to Victoria Azarenka 1–6, 0–6. She reached the same round in doubles, losing to Anna-Lena Grönefeld and Patty Schnyder, 7–6, 2–6, 8–10. Due to her results, Stosur's singles ranking rose from 43 to 31.

At the MPS Group Championships in Ponte Vedra Beach, Stosur was eliminated in the first round by no. 2 seed and eventual champion Caroline Wozniacki, 3–6, 7–6, 1–6. She then played for the Australian Fed Cup team in Mildura, Australia against Switzerland in their World Group II playoff on 25–26 April. Stosur won the opening rubber of the tie in straight sets then sealed the victory for Australia in the third rubber with a tight three-set victory, improving her 2009 Fed Cup singles record to 6–0. With this result, the Australian team advanced to the World Group II in 2010.

On to the clay season, Stosur was eliminated in the first round of the Rome Masters by qualifier Yaroslava Shvedova, and was also defeated in her first match in doubles. She then competed at the Madrid Masters, where she upset no.10 seed Agnieszka Radwańska in the first round, but fell to Anna Chakvetadze in the second round 6–1, 2–6, 6–7. Stosur and Stubbs made it to the semifinals, but were defeated by the world no. 1 team of Cara Black and Liezel Huber 5–7, 6–7.

At the 2009 French Open, Stosur and Stubbs fell in the third round to 16th seeds Yan Zi and Zheng Jie. In singles, Stosur defeated Francesca Schiavone, 6–4, 6–2, in the first round and Yanina Wickmayer, 6–3, 4–6, 6–4, in the second. She then beat fourth seed Elena Dementieva in the third round, 6–3, 4–6, 6–1, and Virginie Razzano of France, 6–1, 6–2, for a place in the quarterfinals, where she defeated Sorana Cîrstea, 6–1, 6–3, and advanced to her first ever Grand Slam semifinal against no. 7 seed and eventual champion, Svetlana Kuznetsova. After losing the first set 4–6, Stosur fought back a break of serve to win the second set 7–6, after trailing 2–5 in the tiebreaker, but lost in the final set 3–6. This made her the lowest seed in the tournament to reach the furthest. With this result, Stosur cracked the top 20 on the WTA Rankings for the first time in her career.

Stosur started the grass season playing at the AEGON International. She lost in the second round to sixth seed and eventual champion Caroline Wozniacki, 1–6, 7–5, 1–6. Having beaten the world no. 1 team of Cara Black and Liezel Huber in the semifinals, she was a runner-up in the doubles tournament, losing the final to Ai Sugiyama and Akgul Amanmuradova.

As the 18th seed at Wimbledon, Stosur lost in the third to 13th seed Ana Ivanović, 5–7, 2–6. In ladies' doubles, Stosur reached her second consecutive final, this time partnering Rennae Stubbs. The third seeds beat second seeds Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual in three sets, 6–7, 6–4, 6–2 in the semifinals, but were defeated in the final by fourth seeds Venus and Serena Williams in straight sets, 6–7, 4–7. Stosur was also defending the mixed doubles title together with Bob Bryan, but the second seeds were defeated in the quarterfinals by 9th seeds and eventual champions Anna-Lena Grönefeld and Mark Knowles.

Stosur started the US Open Series in Stanford, making it into the semifinals, where she lost to eighth seed Marion Bartoli.

Stosur then competed at the LA Women's Tennis Championships as the no. 13 seed. She made it to her fifth WTA Tour final, where she lost to no. 10 seed Flavia Pennetta. Her next tournament was Toronto, where she defeated no. 6 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in the second round, 6–4, 6–3, before being eliminated by 4th seed and eventual champion Elena Dementieva in the quarterfinals 6–7, 6–1, 6–3. At the same tournament, Stosur and Stubbs defeated the world no. 1 team of Cara Black and Liezel Huber in the semifinals, 3–6, 6–3, [10–7], but lost to Nuria Llagostera Vives and María José Martínez Sánchez, 6–2, 5–7, [9–11], in the final.

Stosur at the 2009 US Open

With these results, Stosur improved her ranking to a career-high no. 15 in singles just in time for the US Open, where she was seeded accordingly. She lost to American Vania King in the second round, 5–7, 6–4–6. Stosur entered the doubles event with compatriot Rennae Stubbs. As the third seeds, they made the semifinals without dropping a set, where they faced no. 1 seeds Cara Black and Liezel Huber. They won the first set, but lost the next two after a two-day rain interruption, 7–5, 3–6, 1–6.

At the 2009 Toray Pan Pacific Open, Stosur was defeated by Maria Sharapova in the second round, 0–6, 1–6. Seeded 15th at the China Open, Stosur lost a three-setter to Alizé Cornet. Stosur then played in Osaka as the third seed. Stosur captured her first-ever title on the WTA tour by beating Francesca Schiavone in the finals, 7–5, 6–1, in just over an hour. This win secured her a spot at the 2009 Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions held in Bali. She also qualified at the 2009 WTA Tour Championships in the doubles event partnering compatriot Rennae Stubbs. They lost a hard-fought semifinals match against no. 1 seeds Cara Black and Liezel Huber, 6–3, 6–7 8–10.

Stosur was one of only two players on tour who played at both year-end championships. The other one was María José Martínez Sánchez, who was in Stosur's group at Bali for the round-robin stage with Ágnes Szávay. Stosur won her first match against Szávay in three sets, 6–2, 3–6, 6–1, but lost her second to María José Martínez Sánchez, 6–7, 5–7. This loss cost her the semifinals spot, as Martínez Sánchez won both her round-robin matches.

2010

After her success in 2009, Stosur decided to focus on singles and take part in doubles less. Her partnership with Rennae Stubbs ended, and she partnered with Nadia Petrova; she took part in only the major tournaments in hopes of reaching the Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha.

Alongside Lleyton Hewitt, Stosur represented Australia at the 2010 Hopman Cup. The Australians were the top seeds. Their first tie was against Romania, where Stosur lost unexpectedly to Sorana Cîrstea in a three-setter, and then lost in the mixed doubles, 5–7, 1–6. The next tie was against the USA, where Stosur beat Melanie Oudin in straight sets, 6–2, 6–4. Hewitt also won his singles match against John Isner, sealing the tie. In mixed doubles, Hewitt-Stosur lost 6–2, 1–6, 5–10. To advance to the final, Australia needed to win their tie against Spain 3–0. This result was, however, reversed, Australia losing to Spain 0–3. Stosur's last preparation tournament prior to the Australian Open was the Medibank International. Stosur lost to Flavia Pennetta,3–6, 1–6, in the first round.

Stosur reached her first singles Grand Slam Final at Roland Garros

Stosur was guaranteed a seeding of 13 for the 2010 Australian Open. She lost against world number 1 and defending champion Serena Williams, 4–6, 2–6. Despite the loss, she moved up to a career-high ranking of no. 11. She played with Russian Nadia Petrova in the doubles event of the Australian Open. They were seeded fifth, but lost to another Russia-Australian duo, Vera Dushevina and Anastasia Rodionova in the first round.

She then travelled to Adelaide to represent Australia at the Fed Cup alongside Alicia Molik, Casey Dellacqua, and Rennae Stubbs against Spain. Stosur won both of her singles matches by beating María José Martínez Sánchez, 2–6, 6–4, 6–4, and Anabel Medina Garrigues, 6–1, 6–3. Stosur and Rennae Stubbs won their doubles match, 6–4, 6–2, gifting Australia a 3–2 win in the tie.

Her next tournament was the Dubai Tennis Championships, where she was seeded ninth. Stosur was stunned in the opening round, 6–3, 2–6, 6–7, at the hands of veteran Tathiana Garbin. She had better success in the doubles partnering Nadia Petrova. The pair was seeded fourth and reached the semifinals after receiving a first-round bye, then a walkover, and a win against fifth seeds Alisa Kleybanova and Francesca Schiavone, 6–7, 7–5, [11–9].

Seeded eighth at the BNP Paribas Open, Stosur received a first-round bye. In the quarterfinals, she defeated 12th seed and defending champion Vera Zvonareva, 6–2, 7–6, to move through to her first semifinal at the tournament, where she lost to eventual champion Jelena Janković, 2–6, 4–6, with Stosur making 47 unforced errors in the match. With her success, she reached a career-high ranking of no. 10, making her only the third Australian woman to achieve this feat in 10 years, after Jelena Dokić reached number 4 in 2002 and Alicia Molik reached number 8 in 2005. In doubles, Stosur was third seed with Nadia Petrova. They had a comfortable route to the final, dropping only one set, where they lost 4–6, 6–2, [5–10] to Květa Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik

Stosur's next tournament was the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, where she was seeded ninth. Due to her seeding, Stosur received a bye in the first round. She lost in the quarterfinals, losing to eventual champion Kim Clijsters, 3–6, 5–7. In the doubles draw, Stosur and Petrova were seeded third and reached the final without dropping a set. However, Stosur and Petrova were defeated in the second straight final, losing in a super-tiebreak 3–6, 6–4, [7–10] to Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta.

Stosur began her clay season at the Family Circle Cup, where she was seeded fourth. In the final, she defeated Vera Zvonareva, 6–0, 6–3, for her fifth consecutive victory over the Russian. With this, she won her second and biggest WTA title, which put her back inside the top 10 at world no. 10. She is the only Australian woman to have won this title.

Then, Stosur competed in the World Group Play-offs in Ukraine. After the first day, the Aussies had a commanding lead, going 2–0 against Ukraine. This was helped by a 6–3, 6–0 win from Stosur against Mariya Koryttseva, and Anastasia Rodionova's win over Alona Bondarenko, 0–6, 6–3, 7–5. Stosur then secured victory for Australia with a 7–6, 6–3 win over Lyudmyla Kichenok. Because of this, Australia played in the World Group in 2011 against the top seed Italy.

Stosur then competed at the 2010 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. Her 11-game winning streak was ended by former world no. 1 Justine Henin in the final, 4–6, 6–2, 1–6. Despite this result, Stosur was awarded a new career high ranking of world no. 8.

Her next scheduled tournament was the Rome Masters; however, Stosur had to withdraw due to fatigue. With this, her next scheduled tournament was the Madrid Open as the no. 8 seed. In the quarterfinals, Stosur was broken multiple times by Venus Williams, losing 3–6, 3–6. Because of her run, she rose to world no. 7. In doubles, Stosur resumed her partnership with Nadia Petrova as third seeds with a first-round bye. However, they were knocked out in the second round by Anastasia Rodionova and Patty Schnyder.

Coming in to the French Open Stosur was seeded seventh and was one of the favourites to win the title, due to her semifinal run in 2009 and her tour-best 14–2 record on clay in 2010. She was drawn in the same quarter as Justine Henin, Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams, which was dubbed the toughest section of the draw. Becoming the first Australian woman to reach a Grand Slam singles final since Wendy Turnbull at the 1980 Australian Open, she was the heavy favourite for the title, by dispatching three consecutive former world no. 1's and favorites for the title (4th – Justine Henin, QF – Serena Williams and SF – Jelena Janković). She was upset by Italian Francesca Schiavone, 4–6, 6–7.

In doubles, Stosur and her partner Nadia Petrova were the fourth seeds. They defeated Irina Pavlovic and Laura Thorpe in the first round, 6–4, 6–4, then defeated Vania King and Michaëlla Krajicek in the second round 6–4, 6–7, 6–4. Their run came to an end at the hands of Ukrainian sisters Alona Bondarenko and Kateryna Bondarenko, when the fourth seeds retired trailing 1–6, 0–1.

Stosur's next scheduled tournament was the AEGON International in Eastbourne in the week prior to Wimbledon. In the semifinal. she was defeated by eventual champion Ekaterina Makarova. 6–7, 5–7, in a disappointing display, despite leading the first set 3–0 and having a chance to serve for that set at 5–3. With her semifinals appearance in the AEGON International in Eastbourne, she attained a new career high of world no. 6. Also, with this appearance, she was ranked no. 1 in the race to the WTA Tour Championships in Doha.

Her next tournament was the 2010 Wimbledon Championships. As the sixth seed, Stosur fell in the first round to Kaia Kanepi, 4–6, 4–6, after saving three match points. As the 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone also lost in the first round, Stosur and Schiavone were the first two women in history who reached the French Open final, but failed to win a match at Wimbledon. Despite not winning a match, she received a new career-high ranking of world no. 5, due to Elena Dementieva's withdrawal from the tournament due to injury. Dementieva held the world no. 5 position before the 2010 Wimbledon Championships began and had semifinal points to defend.

Stosur also played in the doubles event, hoping to have success similar to the previous year with then-partner Rennae Stubbs. She played with her 2010 partner Nadia Petrova as the third seeds, but lost in the third round to eventual champions Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova, 4–6, 4–6. She also competed in the mixed doubles event as first seeds with Nenad Zimonjić. They received a bye in the first round, and in the second round, they defeated Colin Fleming and Sarah Borwell, 6–1, 6–4. They then faced the Belgium duo Xavier Malisse and Kim Clijsters, but lost 4–6, 6–7.

Stosur's next scheduled tournament was the 2010 Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, where she was the first seed, but lost in a semifinal match-up with Victoria Azarenka, 2–6, 3–6.

She then participated in the Mercury Insurance Open in San Diego. As the second seed, she lost in the quarterfinals to Flavia Pennetta, 4–6, 3–6.

Due to a shoulder injury, she withdrew from her next two events; the Cincinnati Masters and the Rogers Cup in Montreal. This meant that Stosur had only taken part in one of the five Premier 5 tournaments of the year. By missing both Premier 5 tournaments, Stosur fell to no. 6, since Kim Clijsters won the Cincinnati Masters tournament.

After taking time off to recover from her injury, Stosur took part in the 2010 Pilot Pen Tennis tournament at New Haven, in hopes of regaining some of the lost ranking points and in preparation for the US Open. Stosur lost to Nadia Petrova, 1–6, 2–6, in the quarterfinals.

At the 2010 US Open Stosur was seeded fifth. In her first quarterfinal at the US Open, she was up a break in the third set, before falling to defending champion and second seed Kim Clijsters, 4–6, 7–5, 3–6. Stosur announced that she would not take part in the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Instead, Stosur competed at the final Premier Mandatory event of the year, the China Open, where she lost in the first round to qualifier, Anastasija Sevastova in three sets, 6–2, 6–7, 5–7. Stosur qualified in singles for the year-ending WTA Tour Championships in Doha for the first time in her career, following the withdrawal of American, Venus Williams.[6]

Stosur then attempted to defend her title at the 2010 HP Open as top seed, her only WTA International tournament of the year. She lost against Kimiko Date-Krumm in the quarterfinals, 7–5, 3–6, 6–7, becoming the first top 10 player in WTA history to lose to an opponent over the age of 40.

Stosur competed at the 2010 WTA Tour Championships, where she was seeded fifth. Stosur was drawn in the Maroon Group alongside world no. 1, Caroline Wozniacki, world no. 6 Francesca Schiavone, and world no. 9 Elena Dementieva, seeded first, fourth, and seventh respectively, due to the William Sisters' withdrawal. In her first match against Schiavone, she avenged her Roland Garros final loss to the Italian by defeating her in straight sets, 6–4, 6–4, coming back from a 0–4 deficit in the first set. Her next opponent was world no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki. Stosur continued her dominant showing, recording a 6–4, 6–3 win to secure her spot in the semifinals. She then fell to Elena Dementieva, 6–4, 4–6, 6–7, but secured her spot in the semifinals by winning one set. Stosur finished in first position in her round-robin group, but lost to three-time US Open Champion and world no. 4 Kim Clijsters in the semifinals.

Stosur ended her year at world no. 6 with 4,982 ranking points, just behind world no. 5 Venus Williams with 4,985 ranking points. In addition, Stosur was the only player in 2010 to defeat both current world no. 1 players, Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki. She also had the best percentage of points scored on second serve amongst her peers.

2011

Stosur began her 2011 season by competing at the Brisbane International. She fell in straight sets to fellow Australian, Jarmila Groth in the second round. After this tournament, Stosur competed at the Medibank Sydney International as the fourth seed. She lost in the second round to Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Stosur was seeded fifth at the 2011 Australian Open, where she lost in the third round to 25th seed Petra Kvitová, 6–7, 3–6. Stosur's ranking rose to number 5, despite her early loss at the Australian Open. Stosur then rose to a new career high no. 4, following a quarterfinal showing at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

Stosur had a disappointing start to the first American leg of the year, falling in the third round of the Indian Wells to Dinara Safina, 6–7, 4–6. In Miami, Stosur was seeded fourth, but was defeated in the fourth round by 16th seed and former no. 1 Maria Sharapova, 4–6, 1–6.

After Miami, Stosur played at Charleston, where she failed to defend her title, falling in the third round to Elena Vesnina in two sets.

In Stuttgart, as fifth seed, Stosur lost to Germany's Julia Görges in the semifinals, 4–6, 6–3, 5–7. However, she won in the doubles tournament, partnering Germany's Sabine Lisicki, by defeating the German team of Kristina Barrois and Jasmin Wöhr in the final, 6–1, 7–6.

Stosur's next tournament was the 2011 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, where she was the fifth seed. She lost in the third round to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in straight sets, 6–7, 3–6. She then competed in Rome. The sixth-seeded Stosur reached the final, but suffered a straight-set 2–6, 4–6 defeat to seventh seed Sharapova.

Stosur was seeded eighth at the 2011 French Open, yet was upset by Gisela Dulko, 6–4, 1–6, 3–6, in the third round. This loss meant that Stosur's ranking dropped to world no. 10.

Stosur's next tournament was the 2011 AEGON International as seventh seed. Stosur progressed to the semifinals, where she lost to Marion Bartoli. At Wimbledon, Stosur suffered a first-round loss to world no. 262 Melinda Czink. In mixed doubles, Stosur partnered with Mike Bryan, but lost in the first round. In ladies doubles, Stosur partnered with Sabine Lisicki. Along the way, the pair upset the top seeds and defending champions Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova in the second round. Stosur and Lisicki made it to the final, but lost in straight sets to Květa Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik, 3–6, 1–6.

Stosur began her US Open Series campaign with a straight-set loss to her doubles partner, Lisicki, in the second round of Bank of the West Classic, 3–6, 5–7. However, Stosur bounced back at the Rogers Cup in Toronto by reaching the final, having defeated Li Na and Agnieszka Radwanska along the way. Stosur was defeated by Serena Williams in the final, 4–6, 2–6. She then competed in the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati. She defeated qualifier Eleni Daniilidou, 6–3, 6–1, in the first round. She would then face Serena Williams for the second week in a row in the second round. However, Williams withdrew because of a toe injury, which meant a walkover for Stosur. In the third round, she defeated fifth seed Li Na for the second time in two weeks in three sets, 6–4, 3–6, 6–4. She then faced Maria Sharapova in the quarterfinals and lost in straight sets, 3–6, 2–6.

Stosur was seeded ninth at the US Open, and she drew Sofia Arvidsson in the first round and defeated her, 6–2, 6–3.[7] In the second round, she defeated American Coco Vandeweghe, 6–3, 6–4.[8] The third round was one of Stosur's hardest matches against Nadia Petrova, finally prevailing 7–6, 6–7, 7–5 after a 3 hour 16 minute battle.[9] She played Maria Kirilenko in the fourth round and won 6–2, 6–715–17, 6–3. The second set tiebreak score of 15–17 was the longest in any Major in the history of women's tennis.[10] She then beat second seed Vera Zvonareva, 6–3, 6–3, to reach the semifinals for the first time.[11] Stosur followed this milestone with a 6–3, 2–6, 6–2 win over German player Angelique Kerber to reach her first US Open singles final,[12] where she defeated three-time champion Serena Williams, 6–2, 6–3, for her first Grand Slam tournament singles title,[13][14][15] the first by an Australian woman since Evonne Goolagong Cawley won Wimbledon in 1980.[16]

Stosur suffered two second round losses at the 2011 Toray Pan Pacific Open and the 2011 China Open, both to Maria Kirilenko. However, on 9 October 2011 it was announced that Stosur had qualified for the year-ending WTA Tour Championships in Istanbul, Turkey.

Stosur was runner-up at the 2011 HP Open where she was defeated by second seed, Marion Bartoli, 6–3, 6–1 in the final. Along the way she defeated Noppawan Lertcheewakarn, 6–3, 3–6, 7–5, Misaki Doi, 6–2, 6–4, seventh seed Chanelle Scheepers, 6–2, 6–3 and Zheng Jie, 7–6(5), 3–6, 6–3.

Stosur was placed in the white group for the 2011 WTA Tour Championships. Stosur's first match was against second seed Maria Sharapova, winning the match, 6–1, 7–5. In this match, not only did Stosur cause an upset against the second seed, she won her first match against the Russian after losing to Sharapova in their previous nine encounters. In addition, Stosur has won six of her last seven matches against current top 2 players. (The only loss against a current top two player at that time was world no. 1, Serena Williams in the 2010 Australian Open.) In Stosur's second round robin match, she lost to fourth seed Victoria Azarenka 6–2, 6–2. This was her fifth loss against Azarenka and has yet to win a single set from Azarenka. Stosur thrashed fifth seed Li Na 6–1, 6–0 in her final round robin match to advance to the semifinals for the second straight year, where she met maroon group winner, Petra Kvitova for a spot in the final. She lost the match 5–7 6–3 6–3, despite being 7–5 1–0 up with a break point to go 2–0. Despite the loss, this was the first time Stosur won a set against Kvitova. Kvitova went on to defeat Azarenka in the final, making it the second consecutive year that Stosur lost to the eventual champion in the semifinals. Because of Stosur's performance at the WTA Championships, she replaced Vera Zvonareva as the World Number 6, and will finish the season ranked 6 for the second straight year.

2012

Seeded first, Stosur started the year by losing in the second round of the Brisbane International to Iveta Benesova 4–6, 2–6. Stosur then suffered two first round defeats at the hands of Francesca Schiavone at the Apia International Sydney 2–6, 4–6, and then by Romanian Sorana Cîrstea 6–7(2), 3–6 at the Australian Open. Stosur admitted that the she could not cope under the heavy weight of home expectation especially after winning the 2011 U.S. Open.[17] Despite the result, Stosur's ranking remained at no 5. due to her not having too many ranking points to lose and Li Na failing to defend her finalist points at last year's Australian Open. Stosur then traveled to Fribourg, Switzerland to represent Australia in their Fed Cup tie against Switzerland. She won both of her singles rubbers against Timea Bacsinszky 6–2, 7–5 and Stefanie Voegele 6–3, 6–2.

She then competed at the 2012 Qatar Total Open in Doha. She was seeded third and avenged her loss in the first round of the Australian Open by defeating Sorana Cirstea 6–4, 7–6(5) in the second round; she eventually lost in the final to current world no. 1 Victoria Azarenka, who had not lost a match (17–0) to that point in 2012. Her second Middle-East tournament was the 2012 Dubai Tennis Championships where she defeated Lucie Safarova in the second round 6–1, 6–7(5), 6–1 but for the second straight year lost to former world number no. 1 Jelena Jankovic 4–6, 2–6.

Stosur then traveled to the USA to compete in two premier tournaments, the first being 2012 BNP Paribas Open where she defeated young American Irina Falconi 6–0, 6–3 to make the third round where she lost a very tough match to Nadia Petrova 1–6, 7–6(6), 6–7(5). Then at the Miami Open Stosur made the quarterfinals after a big comeback from 2–6, 2–5 to defeat Chanelle Scheepers 2–6, 7–5, 6–2. Serena Williams got revenge on Stosur for the 2011 US Open final by defeating Sam 7–5, 6–3.

At the 2012 Family Circle Cup in Charleston, Stosur entered the tournament as second seed and had a first round bye. Stosur defeated wild card player Jamie Hampton 6–0, 7–5 in the second round and Galina Voskoboeva 6–3, 4–6, 6–2 in the third round. At the quarterfinals, Stosur defeated Venus Williams for the first time 6–3, 4–6, 6–3 after losing to her in the previous four encounters. However, Stosur's run ended in the semifinals where she lost to eventual champion Serena Williams 1–6 1–6. Had Stosur won against Serena, she would be been the eighth player to defeat both Williams sisters at any one tournament.

After this Stosur made her way to Stuttgart were she won both her singles matches against Germany in the Fed-Cup World Group play-off. She defeated two top twenty players Angelique Kerber, the same player who Stosur faced in the 2011 US Open semifinal and Andrea Petkovic for their first ever head-to-head match. At the WTA event in the same city, Stosur reached the quarterfinals by defeating the defending champion Julia Georges in three sets. She lost in the quarterfinals to Maria Sharapova 7–6, 6–7, 5–7 despite holding a match point in the second set.

At the third Premier Mandatory event in Madrid, Stosur defeated Petra Martic 7–5, 4–6, 7–6(5) and Christina McHale 2–6, 6–4, 6–0 in the first two rounds on the blue clay courts. Stosur's third round opponent will be Petra Cetkovska, who defeated tenth seed Vera Zvonareva and Lourdes Domínguez Lino in straight sets. Stosur won the match in straight sets 6–3, 6–2 to reach the quarterfinals where she lost a tight match to Lucie Hradecka 7–6(8), 7–6(6). Her final tournament before the French Open was the 2012 Internazionali BNL d'Italia where she defeated Sara Errani 6–3, 7–5 to make the third round where she lost to former world number 1 Venus Williams 4–6, 3–6.

Competing at the 2012 French Open as the sixth seed, Stosur advanced to the quarterfinals without dropping a set. She defeated Nadia Petrova 6–3, 6–3 in the third round and then outplayed Sloane Stephens 6–4, 7–5. She defeated Dominika Cibulkova, (who defeated the #1 seed Victoria Azarenka in the fourth round), 6–4, 6–1 to reach her third French Open semi-final.[18] She lost to Sara Errani with 5–7, 6–1, 3–6 in semi-finals.[19] Her WTA world ranking was no. 5 after the tournament.

Stosur lost her second-round match against Arantxa Rus at Wimbledon, 2–6, 6–0, 4–6.[20]

In the London 2012 Olympics, Stosur lost in the first round to Carla Suárez Navarro after winning the first set, 6–3, 5–7, 8–10. [21] Stosur played mixed doubles in the London Olympics with Former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt. They reached the quarter-finals together but lost to crowd favorites Andy Murray and Laura Robson who were competing for Great Britain.

At the 2012 Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, Stosur entered the tournament as the 3rd seed. Stosur had a bye in the first round, and she played Anabel Medina Garrigues in the second round winning, 6–3, 6–7, 6–4. Stosur played Russian Ekaterina Makarova in the second round, comfortably prevailing, 6–1, 6–3. In the quarter-finals, Stosur played wildcard and former world number 1, Venus Williams. Williams won in three sets, 6–2, 6–7, 6–4.

Defending a grand slam title for the first time, Sam comfortably made it through the first three rounds at the US Open against Petra Martić, Edina Gallovits-Hall and 31st seed Varvara Lepchenko. Stosur only lost thirteen games in the first three rounds. Stosur was then up against rising star Laura Robson. Robson had defeated Kim Clijsters and Li Na en route to the fourth round. Stosur comfortably defeated Robson, 6–4, 6–4. Stosur lost in the quarterfinals of the US Open to World Number 1 Victoria Azarenka in a thrilling three-set showdown, which is regarded as the match of the championships. She succumbed 7 points to 5 in the final set tiebreaker and was 2 points away from clinching victory. It was the first time Stosur had ever taken a set of Azarenka. Despite not defending the title, Stosur did win the inaugural US Open Sportsmanship award.

After the US Open, Stosur went to Japan to play the Toray Pan Pacific Open. As the eighth seed, Stosur had a bye in the first round. Stosur played Francesca Schiavone in the second round winning in a three set battle, 4–6, 6–2, 7–5. Stosur defeated 12th seed, Dominika Cibulková, in the third round, 6–4, 7–5. In the quarter-finals, Stosur played World No. 2, Maria Sharapova. Having only beaten Sharapova once in eleven matches, Stosur was the obvious underdog. Stosur beat Sharapova in straight sets, 6–4, 7–6, causing a huge upset. Stosur lost in the quarter-finals to former doubles partner and eventual champion Nadia Petrova, in straight sets, 6–4, 6–2.

2013

Stosur started her year off at the Brisbane International where she was seeded seventh. Stosur lost in the first round to Sofia Arvidsson, 7–6, 7–5. Stosur played China's Jie Zheng in the first round at the Apia International Sydney, where she was seeded sixth. Stosur lost in a tight three set battle, 6–3, 6–77–9, 6–4. It was Stosur's fifth consecutive loss in Australia, however, she broke a nine set losing streak in the country by winning the second set. In the 2013 Australian Open, where was seeded ninth, she lost in the second round to Jie Zheng once again after being 5–2 up in the third set.

Rivalries

Stosur vs. Serena Williams

Currently, Williams leads 6–3 in head-to-head matches. Their first match occurred during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in the second round when Williams was ranked world no. 4, with Williams winning 6–2, 6–0. Since then, both players have been equally matched. Both players even had match points against each other, but lost the match in the end. Such examples of this include Stosur having four match points at the 2009 Medibank International, but lost to Williams. Another example was the 2010 French Open where Williams had a match point, but Stosur won. The only time both players didn't play a complete match was at the 2011 Western and Southern Group Open in the second round where Williams withdrew from the match due to a toe injury. They met at the 2011 US Open final where Stosur prevailed 6–3, 6–2, despite Serena's status as a heavy favourite. Serena avenged the defeat at the 2012 Miami Masters, where Williams defeated Stosur 7–5, 6–3. They next met a week later at the 2012 Family Circle Cup where Williams again defeated Stosur 6–1, 6–1.

Some of these matches were marked by controversy. Then at the 2011 US Open Final Williams shouted 'C'mon!' during a crucial point in the match before Stosur had a chance to hit the ball and Williams was docked the point.

Stosur vs. Schiavone

Currently, Stosur leads 6–4 in head-to-head matches. Their major matches include the 2009 final of HP Open in Osaka where Stosur lifted her first WTA singles title, and the 2010 French Open final where both players reached their first ever grand slam final, but with Schiavone coming out on top despite Stosur being the heavy favorite to win the championship.

Stosur vs. Zvonareva

Currently, Stosur leads 8–2 in their head-to-head matches. In their first two meetings, Zvonareva won both of those matches. After that, Stosur has won the last eight matches, including the 2010 Family Circle Cup final and the 2011 US Open quarterfinal match.

Stosur vs. Sharapova

Currently, Maria Sharapova leads 11–2 in their head-to-head matches. Sharapova has won their first 9 meetings. Their last meeting, Stosur lost 6–0 6–3.

Playing style

General
An accomplished doubles player, Stosur in her early years developed a serve and volley style of play but as the years progressed, she started to feel more comfortable hitting on the baseline and coming to the net less often. Although she is known for being a doubles specialist and having great volleys and drop-shots while playing doubles, in her singles matches, Stosur has a tendency to miss-hit these shots. Her right-handed forehand ground-strokes, hit with heavy top-spin, are considered her best, as evidenced by her often choosing to hit inside-out forehands. She can hit forehand winners from any side of the court, and her motion when hitting her forehands makes it hard for her opponents to guess where she will hit it to. Accordingly, many players attack her backhand side, which was considered a weakness of her game; however in 2010, Stosur adopted Pat Rafter's signature backhand slice, to add to her game and help her set up points. She has also improved on her two-handed backhand generating winners on occasion, particularly her backhand down the line. Stosur is also noted for her athleticism and after bouncing back from a career-threatening Lyme Disease, she has become one of the fittest players on tour.

Serve
Because of its power, kick and variety, Stosur's serve is widely considered one of the best on the women's tour. Her first serve, however erratic, reaches more than 190 km/h (118 mph) on a regular basis. Her second, a high bouncing kick serve, is highly rated as being the best second serve in the women's game by media and players alike, and was thought to play a key role in her French Open success in 2009 and 2010. One thing that Stosur has changed in her game, thanks to coach David Taylor, is the fact that her serve has been less predictable with Stosur sometimes even using her kick serve as first serves. Her good serving motion has helped her overhead smashes and she rarely misses those shots.

Surface
Her favourite surface is hard court. Stosur has also mentioned that her least favourite surface is grass and this is mostly because her biggest weapons (top-spin forehand & kick-serve) are not very effective on this surface. Her performances at Wimbledon have reflected this, as she has only gone past the second round once on the lone grass-court Grand Slam event.

Weakness
In her earlier years on the WTA tour, Stosur's real weakness was her inability to handle the pressure at major matches and being poor at closing out matches. In her first four WTA tour finals, she won the first set only to lose the match. On her off-days, she can hit over 50 unforced errors. She has shown great improvement in these areas, and the weaknesses are seen less frequently now, as evidenced by her calm dispatch of the four-time Roland Garros champion and former World No. 1 Justine Henin; one time Roland Garros champion and the then-World No. 1 Serena Williams; and former World No. 1 Jelena Janković, in the 4th round, quarter-final and semi-final at the 2010 Roland Garros respectively.

Singles performance timeline

Further information: Samantha Stosur career statistics

Grand Slam

Singles: 2 (1–1)

Outcome Year Championship Surface Opponent Score Ref
Runner-up 2010 French Open Clay Italy Francesca Schiavone 4–6, 6–7(2–7) [22]
Winner 2011 US Open Hard United States Serena Williams 6–2, 6–3 [13]
Tournament 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 W-L
Grand Slam Tournaments
Australian Open 1R 3R 2R 1R 4R 2R A 3R 4R 3R 1R 2R 15–11
French Open A A 1R 2R 1R 3R 2R SF F 3R SF 22–9
Wimbledon A 1R 1R 1R 2R 2R 2R 3R 1R 1R 2R 6–10
US Open A A 2R 1R 1R 1R 1R 2R QF W QF 17–8
Win–Loss 0–1 2–2 2–4 1–4 4–4 4–4 2–3 10–4 13–4 11–3 10–4 1–1 60–38

Doubles Performance Timeline

Tournament 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 W-L
Grand Slam Tournaments
Australian Open 1R 1R 2R 2R F SF 3R 1R 13–8
French Open 3R 3R W SF 3R 3R 3R 1R 20–7
Wimbledon 2R 2R SF 3R SF F F 3R F 2R 30–10
US Open 2R 3R W SF 3R F SF 1R 24–7
Win–Loss 0–1 2–3 6–4 13–3 17–3 14–4 12–3 13–4 4–3 5–2 1–2 87–32

References

  1. ^ a b c "Bio – Sam's story". Retrieved 30 September 2008.
  2. ^ "Samantha Stosur Interview – French Open, June 4". Tennis-X. 4 June 2010. Archived from the original on 12 July 2010. Well, my grandfather is Polish, and it's a Polish name. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ Halloran, Jessica (21 January 2006). "Play it again, Sam". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 30 September 2008.
  4. ^ Hawkins, Joanne (14 January 2007). "Court of appeal". The Sunday Telegraph. Retrieved 30 September 2008.
  5. ^ "Samatha Stosur – Tennis". Athlete Bios. Australian Olympic Committee. Retrieved 17 June 2010.
  6. ^ "WTA | News | Latest News | Schiavone & Stosur Qualify For Doha". Sonyericssonwtatour.com. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  7. ^ Tan, Gillian (30 August 2011). "Sam Stosur powers through to second round". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  8. ^ Wald, Tom (2 September 2011). "Stosur not getting ahead of herself". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  9. ^ "Stosur edges Petrova in 38-game marathon at Open". The Wall Street Journal. 3 September 2011. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  10. ^ Gloster, Rob (4 September 2011). "Stosur, Kirilenko Play Longest Tiebreaker in Women's History at U.S. Open". Bloomberg. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  11. ^ Linden, Julian (8 September 2011). "Stosur overpowers Zvonareva to reach semis". Reuters. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  12. ^ Myles, Stephanie (11 September 2011). "U.S. Open:". The Gazette. Montreal. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
  13. ^ a b Bernstein, Viv (11 September 2011). "Stosur plays match of her life to win first major". ESPN. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  14. ^ "Sam Stosur Wins US Open After Serena Williams Shout Controversy". The Age. Australia. 12 September 2011.
  15. ^ Mitchell, Kevin (12 September 2011). "Samantha Stosur shocks Serena Williams to take first major". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  16. ^ Hinds, Richard (13 September 2011). "A triumph of hard work and sacrifice". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
  17. ^ Le Grand, Chip (18 January 2012). "Stosur blown away, Hewitt finds way to grind on". The Australian. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
  18. ^ "Samantha Stosur". Retrieved 5 June 2012.
  19. ^ "Sam Stosur". Retrieved 7 June 2012.
  20. ^ "Wimbledon 2012". Retrieved 28 June 2012.
  21. ^ http://www.london2012.com/tennis/event/women-singles/index.html
  22. ^ "Francesca Schiavone climbs to sixth in world rankings after French Open victory". The Daily Telegraph. London. 7 June 2010. Retrieved 17 November 2010.
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Awards and achievements
Preceded by WTA Doubles Team of the Year
(with United States Lisa Raymond)
2005, 2006 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Argentina Paola Suárez &
Spain Virginia Ruano Pascual
 ITF Doubles Champions
(with United States Lisa Raymond)
2005, 2006 		Succeeded by
Zimbabwe Cara Black &
United States Liezel Huber
Preceded by WTA Diamond Aces
2010 		Succeeded by

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