Sam Stosur says Serena Williams feels ‘pressure’ to win US Open

Sam Stosur revealed that Serena Williams is feeling the pressure of winning the last grand slam tournament at Flushing Meadows to claim a Calendar Slam this season. Stosur was the last player to beat Williams in the tournament and the Australian likes her chances of stopping the American from winning a fourth consecutive title at Flushing Meadows.

After securing her place in the quarterfinals of the 2015 Citi Open against Kristina Mladenovic 6-2 6-2, Stosur shared a piece of advice to fellow players who are longing to cut Williams’ successful run on grand slam events. She suggested that the players should play their best tennis and keep the pressure on Williams.

“You know she wants to get Calendar Slam, she’s not immune to the nerves and pressure,” Stosur said, reported Abc.net.au . She added, “You have to go after it, whatever it is you do, you have to bring that at big moments and make it happen.”

The 31-year-old Queensland native also talked about the possibility of clashing with Williams, who leads their head-to-head series 8-5. She said that she has got what it takes to cause trouble to the six-time US Open champion. Stosur’s only grand slam title came when she beat Williams at the US Open final 6-2 6-3 in 2011.

Stosur added that Williams deserves all the praises that the American gets for being the greatest female tennis player of this generation. However, Stosur also pointed out that Williams’ achievements in the sporting world of tennis is not something that she and other players ponder about.

Serena at the US Open

Williams first played her US Open tournament when she was 16 years old, three years after turning professional. The American tennis star reached the third round before losing to Irina Spirlea of Romania 6-3 0-6 7-5. In 1999, Williams won her maiden grand slam singles trophy against Kim Clijsters 6-3 7-6. She had successful runs in the tournament in the following years reaching becoming a quarterfinalist (2000), runner-up (2001), and winning the trophy again in 2002. It was the year when she climbed to No. 1 in the world rankings for the very first time in her career.

In 2003, Williams did not defend her title because of an injury. She later underwent knee surgery at the end of the season. For a period of six years from 2004 until 2009, Williams only won the US Open title once (2008). She skipped playing the tournament again in 2010 because she injured her foot that required a series of operations in July and October.

Williams returned to the US Open tournament in 2011 but she was outplayed by Stosur 6-2 6-3 in the finale. It was Williams’ first defeat in 17 grand slam finals in her career. Since 2012, Williams boasts a 21-0 record at Flushing Meadows.

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