Samantha Stosur stunned three-time champion Serena Williams to win the US Open

Samantha Stosur stunned three-time champion Serena Williams 6-2, 6-3 to win the US Open on Sunday, claiming the first Grand Slam title of her career in a stormy final.

Stosur kept her composure as Williams erupted in anger at the chair umpire in the second set, dominating the 13-time Grand Slam champion who had reached the final without dropping a set.

She became the first Australian  woman to take the title in New York since Margaret Court in 1973, and the first to win a Grand Slam title since Evonne Goolagong won Wimbledon in 1980.

"I had one of my best days and I'm very fortunate that I had it on this stage in New York," Stosur said.
"Ever since I started playing it was a dream of mine to be here one day." Williams arrived in the final after
dismantling world number one Caroline Wozniacki in the semifinals on Saturday night. But Stosur, playing her second career Grand Slam final after a runner-up finish in the French Open last year, quickly claimed the opening set, breaking Williams to lead 2-1 and winning the last 12 points of the set as Williams' frustration grew.

Williams, whose powerful serve is a cornerstone of her game, struggled to get her first serves in and Stosur
repeatedly made her pay. The Australian was still rolling in the opening game of the second frame, giving herself a double break point with a crushing return of serve. Williams saved one with an ace, and
appeared to save another for deuce.

But the American's shout of "c'mon" as soon as she unleashed her forehand came before Stosur reached the ball, and umpire Eva Asdaraki immediately penalised Williams for "intentional hindrance"and the point and the game went to  Stosur. "Aren't you the one who screwed me over last time?," Williams bellowed at Asdaraki. "That is totally not cool." The scene recalled Williams' similar meltdown in her 2009 semifinal defeat to Kim Clijsters. In that match, she unleashed a tirade of abuse at a lineswoman who called a foot-fault during the tense match  and a penalty point sealed her fate in a 6-4, 7-5 defeat.

This time an angry Williams -- backed by a suddenly energized crowd on the 22,000-seat Arthur Ashe Stadium -- immediately stepped up her game, breaking Stosur for 1-1 and holding to edge ahead 2-1.
Williams continued to berateAsdaraki on the changeover, but  Stosur stayed calm and saved two break points in the fourth game tolevel the set at 2-2.

Stosur said she didn't really know just what was happening between Williams and Asdaraki. "I was just kind of there," Stosur said. "I do know the rule, but it's not something I've ever had to deal with before." She gained the edge with a break for 4-3, and broke again to seal the match with yet another blistering return off a Williams second serve on her third match point.

"I don't really know what to say," said Stosur, whose rugged path to the final included a third-round victory over Nadia Petrova that lasted a US Open women's record three hours and 16 minutes and a marathon 17-15 tiebreak loss to Maria Kirilenko before she rallied to beat the Russian. "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," said Stosur.

When it was all over, Williams congratulated Stosur, and did her best gloss over her burst of temper."I was doing my best," she said. "I hit a winner but I guess it didn'tcount ... But it wouldn't have mattered anyway  because she played really well." 

US Open: Serena Williams beats Wozniacki to reach final

American tennis star Serena Williams toppled World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki 6-2, 6-4, to reach the women's final of the US Open in New York.

It was Williams’ first appearance in the US Open semi-finals since 2009, and the 28th seed is now only a win away from her 14th Grand Slam title.

Williams finished with 19 unforced errors and 15 winners in the first set and 34 over all. Wozniacki had five winners and 12 unforced errors.

“For me, it’s amazing. Just thinking about being in the hospital and now I’m beating the No. 1 player, I think it calls for an even bigger reaction,” the New York Times quoted Williams, as saying.

Wozniacki later said that Williams just played “very, very well”.

“You know, she’s in great shape, serving well, returning well, playing her hard strokes. Especially that serve was just a killer,” she said.

Serena Williams out of Wimbledon

Defending champion Serena Williams was dumped out of Wimbledon on Monday, losing to French ninth seed Marion Bartoli in straight sets 6-3 7-6 (8-6).
Four-time winner Williams, who has only recently returned to tennis after a year-long lay-off because of health and injury problems, was always struggling to impose herself against her determined French opponent on Court One.

Bartoli was ecstatic after a fourth round win which puts her into a quarter-final against German wildcard Sabine Lisicki in Tuesday’s last eight."Beating Serena here is like a dream come true," Bartoli said.

"She’s been out for a year but she is still one of the greatest champions in the history of women’s tennis.’’Bartoli was made to battle every inch of the way however as the typically dogged Williams saved three match points in the 12th game of the second set to force a tie-break.Williams saved a fourth match point in the tiebreak but Bartoli conjured up a booming serve to convert her fifth and advance.

"It was not easy mentally to hang on after she managed to save the match points but I did so I’m very happy,’’ Bartoli said.

The first set went with serve until the sixth game, when Bartoli grabbed the all-important break to edge ahead 4-2, which swiftly became 5-2 after the Frenchwoman held to love.

Williams fought off three set points in her next service game before holding to narrow the gap to 5-3.

The American was then gifted a break point in the ninth game when Bartoli double-faulted.Bartoli showed great composure to fight back however, holding off two more break points from Williams before converting her sixth set point with an ace.

The second set went with serve until the 11th game when Williams was broken to give Bartoli a 6-5 lead.Bartoli’s supporters were then put through the wringer as she squandered three match points as Williams broke back to force a tiebreak.
But Bartoli, who had banished her father from the viewing box during her third round match on Saturday, held her nerve in the tie-break, wrapping up victory when Williams could only return a booming serve into the net.

Pics: Celebs at Wimbledon 2011

Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar is introduced to the Centre Court crowd on the sixth day of the 2011 Wimbledon Tennis Championships at the All England Tennis Club.

Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and his wife Anjali are introduced to the Centre Court crowd on the sixth day of the 2011 Wimbledon Tennis Championships at the All England Tennis Club.

Former Grand Slam champion Martina Navratilova, center, talks to Sachin Tendulkar and his wife Anjali prior to the match on centre court at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon

Britain's cricket captain Andrew Strauss, front center, and his wife Ruth, front left, sit with All England Lawn Tennis Club Chairman Philip Brook, front right, and cricketers Kevin Pietersen, center second row, Ian Bell and their wives as they watch play on Centre Court at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon.

Britain's cricketer Kevin Pietersen watches play on Centre Court at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon.

French player Adrian Mannarino serves to Swiss player Roger during the men's single at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships at the All England Tennis Club, in southwest London on June 22.

Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the US arrives on court prior to her match against Japan's Misaki Doi at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon

French player Jo-Wilfried Tsonga celebrates after beating Bulgarian player Grigor Dimitrov in a Men's Singles match at the 2011 Wimbledon Tennis Championships at the All England Tennis Club, in south-west London, on June 23, 2011.

Mirka Vavrinec, wife of Swiss player Roger Federer arrives for his game with French player Adrian Mannarino during the men's single at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships at the All England Tennis Club, in southwest London on June 22, 2011.

Swiss player Roger Federer's shoes are seen as he plays with French player Adrian Mannarino during the men's single at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships at the All England Tennis Club, in southwest London.

German player Sabine Lisicki cries after beating Chinese player Li Na during the women's single at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships at the All England Tennis Club, in southwest London.

See the Slideshow here

Wimbledon: Serena, Nadal, Federer and Sharapova roll

Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams— players with a combined 12 Wimbledon titles — all won in straight sets Saturday to move into the fourth round and keep up their pursuit of even more championship trophies at the All England Club.

Six-time champion Federer beat David Nalbandian 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 to move closer to equaling Pete Sampras' record of seven Wimbledon titles.

Two-time winner and defending champion Rafael Nadal committed only three unforced errors in a 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-5), 6-0 victory over Gilles Muller, a 92nd-ranked wild card from Luxembourg.

Williams, chasing a third straight title and fifth overall in her comeback from nearly a year out with serious health problems, served 10 aces in beating 26th-seeded Maria Kirilenko 6-3, 6-2.

Muller is the last player other than Roger Federer to beat Nadal at Wimbledon, in the second round in 2005.

Nadal will next face another Grand Slam champion, 2009 U.S. Open winner Juan Martin del Potro, who beat Gilles Simon 7-6 (10-8), 7-6 (7-5), 7-5.

"He's a fantastic player. He's one of the best players of the world," Nadal said of the Argentine, who missed most of 2010 after surgery on his right wrist. "He had an important injury last year, but he's here now all the time and he's at his top level.

Rafael Nadal returns a shot during his third- round match against Gilles Muller of Luxembourg. Nadal will play Juan Martin del Potro in the fourth round.

"It will be a very difficult match. It will be a fantastic test and I have to be playing my best if I want to have chances, and that's what I'm going to try."

In other women's play, 2004 champion Maria Sharapova and top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki won in straights set to reach the round of 16.

Nadal, who saved two break points in the first set Friday against Muller, was credited with zero unforced errors Saturday in the second set. But Muller managed to stay even until he sliced a backhand into the net after a long rally to give Nadal a 6-5 edge in the tiebreaker. The Spaniard closed out the set in the next game with a forehand winner, then won six straight games, finishing with an ace.

"It was a very difficult match to play, especially the first two sets, when I had not one chance to break him," Nadal said. "It's like a lottery. I'm happy about how I played the tiebreaks, very solid with my serve. … I feel like in the third set I started to play really, really good."

Nadal said he felt discomfort in his right leg, but that it was not related to the two heavy falls he took at the baseline during the match.

"I started to feel the leg a little bit more tired than usual," he said. "But I played today without problems, and now I (have) one day and a half to rest and recover. I hope it will be perfect for Monday."

Sharapova, the 2004 champion, struggled with her game but reached the fourth round by beating Klara Zakopalova 6-2, 6-3.

The fifth-seeded Russian, the only champion in the women's draw other than the Williams sisters, had 21 unforced errors and four double-faults in an inconsistent baseline performance in windy conditions on Court 2.

But, after falling behind 3-1 in the second set, Sharapova lifted her game to win five games in a row to finish off the 35th-ranked Czech player.

Zakopalova struggled with her footing, slipping at least four times along the baseline.

Sharapova pumped her fist and shouted "Come on!" after hitting a forehand service return winner to break for 5-3 in the second set, then finished the match in the next game with another forehand winner down the line.

Sharapova hasn't reached the semifinals since 2006. She will next face 20th-seeded Peng Shuai of China, who beat Melinda Czink of Hungary 6-2, 7-6 (7-5).

Wozniacki, still looking for her first Grand Slam title, swept Jarmila Gajdosova 6-3, 6-2 to reach the fourth round for the third straight year. Wimbledon is the only major championship where the Dane has not reached at least the quarterfinals.

Also reaching the final 16 among the men was last year's runner-up Tomas Berdych. The sixth-seeded Czech needed only seven points to complete a 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 win over Alex Bogomolov Jr. of the United States. The match had been suspended by rain with Berdych leading 4-3, 15-0 in the third set Friday.

Berdych will next play 10th-seeded Mardy Fish, the last American man left in the tournament. He advanced when Robin Haase retired at 1-1 in the fourth set because of injuries. Fish was up two sets to one, 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2.

Ninth-seeded Gael Monfils was defeated by 93rd-ranked Polish qualifier Lukasz Kubot, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. The 29-year-old Kubot, who won three qualifying matches to get into the main draw, also reached the round of 16 at the 2010 Australian Open.

No. 18 Ana Ivanovic, a former top-ranked player and 2008 French Open champion, was knocked out by Petra Cetkovska, 6-2, 7-6 (7-0). No. 9 Marion Bartoli beat Flavia Pennetta 5-7, 6-4, 9-7.