Samantha Stosur

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Samantha Stosur : biography

1984-3-30 –

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. 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 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.