Australia's Samantha Stosur, left, congratulates Italy's Francesca Schiavone after being defeated in a women's final match for the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Saturday, June 5, 2010. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau)
Court Philippe Chatrier could have been on the Gold Coast. 28 degrees was to Stosur a typical Queensland day. The sunnies stayed on and Schiavone was left to wonder if Sam had any emotion at all. Sam looked every inch the champion. Tall, composed and terrifically taut. Margaret Court would have been chuffed. But it was not to be.
The packed centre court sees Sam Stosur serve in her typical strong manner and she holds to love with an ace down the middle. It was looking good for our Sam.
Francesca Schiavone was a retriever in the best traditions of the Spinone Italiano. (An ancient breed of gundog). Stosur moved her from side to side and Schiavone ran her heart out. In the end she retrieved one ball too many for Stosur. Schiavone was serving well and to Stosur’s forehand and wide. The tactic paid off and she had many easy winners into an empty court.
Stosur was not the same player that imposed herself on three number ones’ in her last matches. Her service, usually so reliable, resembled Energy Australia on an exceptionally cold day. She had the occasional surge at 191 kph but it was too little and too late. Schiavone was not going away and her fans in the stand were cheering like at a football match.
At 4-4 with Sam serving, her forehand is called just long and before you can blink it is 0-40 and the Italian has three break points. A six point rally sees Sam save one break point when a Schiavone backhand clips the net and refuses to go over. Lucky Sam! But she promptly double faults and Schiavone will be serving for the set at 5-4.
Sam raises hopes of a fight back and has Schiavone down 0-30. The Italian is like a dog with a bone and refuses to let go. She scrambles to 40-30 and Stosur responds to deuce. Schiavone, once again, slices a serve wide to the Stosur forehand and puts away the loopy return with a backhand into the open court. Sam nets a weak return of the Schiavone second serve and the set is gone.
Shciavone has the momentum but Sam starts to show more intent and holds serve to 15. Her unforced error count is 15 to the Italian’s 10 and her first serve percentage is a lowly 50 to Schiavone’s 75. This was not in the script.
Stosur looked strong at 4-1 in the second set and had revived her game. But she is barely hanging in and Schiavone breaks back and levels at 4-4.
Sam decides to become more aggressive but Schiavone also lifts and it is now a dog fight. The inevitable tiebreaker comes around and it is the Italian who holds both her nerve and her serve. She wins the tiebreaker to two and falls flat on her back. Nicola Pietrangili, Italy’s greatest player, looks on in the stands and is overjoyed. The Italian fans celebrate as if they had won the World Cup.
The forensics post match showed 28 unforced errors to Stosur and 19 to Schiavone. Surprisingly, Schiavone served six aces to Stosur’s three. But the forensics cannot show the undoubted desire and focus of Schiavone. This was her appointed hour and a half. 6-4, 7-6 and the Suzanne Lenglen was hers.
The Lioness of Milan triumphed over a brave Sam Stosur. The analysts may say that Stosur was not at her best. The truth of the matter is that Francesca Schiavone played to her potential and beyond. Sam was not allowed to get into the match. And when she did with a break in the second the Italian lifted again and imposed her game.
Sam will live to fight another day. She has the game to be number one. She will win a Grand Slam sooner rather than later. For now it is a matter of lifting that self-belief another notch and concentrating on the Big W.
Sport can be both cruel and fair. There has to be a loser and a winner.
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