Stosur Sees Off Serena in Stanford

Considering the seeming unanimity with which Serena has been declared #1 by the tennis community, Samantha Stosur committed regicide Friday in the Stanford quarterfinals.

The unseeded Australian more known for her doubles dismantled top-seeded WTA #2 Serena Williams in the third set after dropping the second, advancing to her first ever US Open Series semifinal by the score of 6-2, 3-6, 6-2.

Down 15-40 and serving at 2-2, Stosur reeled off an incredible thirteen points in a row that completely took Williams out of it both on the scoreboard and psychologically, leaving her without any of the trademark fight she is known for in late stages of matches.

For all the flak Dinara Safina caught for entering  that tiny tournament in Portoroz, she still managed to win it.  And while there was not anyone else in Portoroz with as high a ranking as Stosur (or several other players entered in Stanford, for that matter), there is something to be said for winning. Safina won her tournament, and Serena didn't win hers.  Tough to keep making the argument about Serena deserving the #1 ranking at any time except the eight weeks of the year when a slam is going on.

But as much as the ink is going to be spilled over Serena's exit, Stosur's win may prove to be the more significant event long haul.  When I talked with Rennae Stubbs about Stosur's game, Stubbs made it clear that it was on hard courts that she would do the most damage, because of her forehand and her kick serve (the latter of which Lindsay Davenport called the best in the women's game).

Stosur, in my mind, is a heavy favorite to beat Bartoli today, but probably won't prove much of a threat to the winner of the Dementieva-Venus Williams semifinal.  Though I didn't expect Serena to be given as much trouble as she did either, so I can't totally rule out the Aussie taking home the title in Palo Alto, either.