The Australian player had a really up and down season and I really don't know what to think. She surely did good as she reached the Nr.6 in the world and most of all, won the last US Open in a great way.
6- Samantha Stosur (AUSTRALIA)
2010 Year-Ending Ranking : N°6 (=)
2011 in Review : Of course, the biggest highlight of her season and moreover, of her entire career will remain her win at the US Open. And this win has been a real surprise as she never played well on the US Open's fast hardcourt but Samantha did it and she'll remain in tennis history for that.
Nontheless, the season did not begin this way. It actually began quite bad at home, in Australia, in that hot summer. She suffers a 1st round exit at Brisbane against compatriot Jarmila Gajdosova 6/2 6/4 and a 2nd round exit at Sydney, losing to Svetlana Kuznetsova in three sets. She's slightly better at the Australian Open, in Melbourne, where she manages to win, for the first time of the year, two matches in a row before losing to Petra Kvitova.
The continuation was not better. She reaches the quarter-finals in Dubai before losing to Jelena Jankovic and then lost to Dinara Safina in Indian Wells (3rd round) and to Maria Sharapova (3rd round) in Miami.
Thus, before the beginning of the claycourt campaign, Samantha's season has been nothing near her best, she played some okay tennis but nothing outstanding like she did in 2010. Coming back on the dirt, she manages to reach the semi-finals at Stuttgart by winning over Vera Zvonareva in the quarter-finals. In Rome, she clinches wins over Li Na and Fransesca Schiavone in order to reach the final where she lost to Maria Sharapova in straight sets 6/2 6/4.
Having reached the final at Roland Garros in 2010, Samantha Stosur arrives there with high expectations but all goes wrong and her tennis seems to be everywhere but on the parisian courts. She lose in the 3rd round to Gisela Dulko. Her bad form goes on as she lost in the 1st round to Melinda Czink at Wimbledon.
Then comes tu US Hardcourt season, where Samantha Stosur never felt at ease beacause of the fast courts. But she managed to do quite well reaching to final in Toronto (l. to Serena Williams) and the quarter-finals (l. to Maria Sharapova). Then came the US Open where Samantha Stosur came up solid to win match after match, playing an unibelievably dramatic match against Maria Kirilenko in 4th round and got rid of Vera Zvonareva in the quarter-finals. But she played the best match of her life, as she said, in the final, against Serena Williams against whom she won in a beautiful way 6/2 6/3. Sam Stosur wins here her first grand slam trophy, after failing at the same stage during the 2010 Roland Garros.
The asian swing is a little bit harder to handle, Samantha falls to pressure and lost twice to Maria Kirilenko in both Tokyo and Beijing. She somehow reaches the final at Osaka losing to Marion Bartoli. She qualifies for second time of her career to the Masters and this time, she manages to reach the semi-finals before losing to Petra Kvitova, the eventual champion.
What to expect for 2012 ? : Samantha Stosur finished this season at her best with this US Open victory. In 2012, she'll have to deal with this victory and to consider herslef as a favorite and not as an outsider anymore. She'll have to deal with the preassure and it will be particulary interesting to see how she'll face the tension of being a new slam winner and to play at home, in Australia. Rendez-vous at Brisbane for first few answers and of course at Melbourne.
But, more generally, Samantha Stosur will have to find the key to play consistently throughout the year and to beat player she have to beat. We also wish her to do well in Grand Slam and why not in Roland Garros where her she expresses all the variety of her game. She's got a shot there.
2012 could also be the year for Stosur to learn how to play well on grass in order to represent well Australia in Wimbledon and most of all, during the Olympics.
The best of 2011 : Samantha Stosur d. Serena Williams 6/2 6/3 (US Open- Final)
This match is THE one that Samantha Stosur showed us all her tennis, all its variety, its beauty but also showed mental skills that we all thought she lacked of. A big moment of tennis to live, or live again.
The worst of 2011 : Gisela Dulko d. Samantha Stosur 6/4 1/6 6/3 (Roland Garros - 3rd round)
Probably one of the worst tennis Sam Stosur has ever played. She seemed really erratic, did not know what to do on the court and even when she was finding kind of some form back she let Gisela come back in the match by committing way too much errors. Can't find the video from the match, but I can surely give you this !
6- Samantha Stosur (AUSTRALIA)
2010 Year-Ending Ranking : N°6 (=)
 | |
| Samantha Stosur's joy after match point against Serena Williams at the US Open (New York, USA) |
2011 in Review : Of course, the biggest highlight of her season and moreover, of her entire career will remain her win at the US Open. And this win has been a real surprise as she never played well on the US Open's fast hardcourt but Samantha did it and she'll remain in tennis history for that.
Nontheless, the season did not begin this way. It actually began quite bad at home, in Australia, in that hot summer. She suffers a 1st round exit at Brisbane against compatriot Jarmila Gajdosova 6/2 6/4 and a 2nd round exit at Sydney, losing to Svetlana Kuznetsova in three sets. She's slightly better at the Australian Open, in Melbourne, where she manages to win, for the first time of the year, two matches in a row before losing to Petra Kvitova.
The continuation was not better. She reaches the quarter-finals in Dubai before losing to Jelena Jankovic and then lost to Dinara Safina in Indian Wells (3rd round) and to Maria Sharapova (3rd round) in Miami.
Thus, before the beginning of the claycourt campaign, Samantha's season has been nothing near her best, she played some okay tennis but nothing outstanding like she did in 2010. Coming back on the dirt, she manages to reach the semi-finals at Stuttgart by winning over Vera Zvonareva in the quarter-finals. In Rome, she clinches wins over Li Na and Fransesca Schiavone in order to reach the final where she lost to Maria Sharapova in straight sets 6/2 6/4.
Having reached the final at Roland Garros in 2010, Samantha Stosur arrives there with high expectations but all goes wrong and her tennis seems to be everywhere but on the parisian courts. She lose in the 3rd round to Gisela Dulko. Her bad form goes on as she lost in the 1st round to Melinda Czink at Wimbledon.
Then comes tu US Hardcourt season, where Samantha Stosur never felt at ease beacause of the fast courts. But she managed to do quite well reaching to final in Toronto (l. to Serena Williams) and the quarter-finals (l. to Maria Sharapova). Then came the US Open where Samantha Stosur came up solid to win match after match, playing an unibelievably dramatic match against Maria Kirilenko in 4th round and got rid of Vera Zvonareva in the quarter-finals. But she played the best match of her life, as she said, in the final, against Serena Williams against whom she won in a beautiful way 6/2 6/3. Sam Stosur wins here her first grand slam trophy, after failing at the same stage during the 2010 Roland Garros.
The asian swing is a little bit harder to handle, Samantha falls to pressure and lost twice to Maria Kirilenko in both Tokyo and Beijing. She somehow reaches the final at Osaka losing to Marion Bartoli. She qualifies for second time of her career to the Masters and this time, she manages to reach the semi-finals before losing to Petra Kvitova, the eventual champion.
What to expect for 2012 ? : Samantha Stosur finished this season at her best with this US Open victory. In 2012, she'll have to deal with this victory and to consider herslef as a favorite and not as an outsider anymore. She'll have to deal with the preassure and it will be particulary interesting to see how she'll face the tension of being a new slam winner and to play at home, in Australia. Rendez-vous at Brisbane for first few answers and of course at Melbourne.
But, more generally, Samantha Stosur will have to find the key to play consistently throughout the year and to beat player she have to beat. We also wish her to do well in Grand Slam and why not in Roland Garros where her she expresses all the variety of her game. She's got a shot there.
2012 could also be the year for Stosur to learn how to play well on grass in order to represent well Australia in Wimbledon and most of all, during the Olympics.
The best of 2011 : Samantha Stosur d. Serena Williams 6/2 6/3 (US Open- Final)
This match is THE one that Samantha Stosur showed us all her tennis, all its variety, its beauty but also showed mental skills that we all thought she lacked of. A big moment of tennis to live, or live again.
The worst of 2011 : Gisela Dulko d. Samantha Stosur 6/4 1/6 6/3 (Roland Garros - 3rd round)
Probably one of the worst tennis Sam Stosur has ever played. She seemed really erratic, did not know what to do on the court and even when she was finding kind of some form back she let Gisela come back in the match by committing way too much errors. Can't find the video from the match, but I can surely give you this !
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