It was a turbulent US Open, more due to extraneous factors rather than the tennis. The threat of hurricanes to begin with, day after entire day washed out because of the rains, and when play did get underway, water seeping through the court and the resulting temper outbursts from the players around. Compared to all that, the tennis went pretty much according to plan. My predictions seem pretty reasonable in the end, though that mind-boggling repeat of last year’s US Open semi-final between Djokovic and Federer was the closest it came to changing the script we all expected. But it was on the women’s side that the script was supposed to be set in stone. And it seemed that way for a long time, with Serena steamrolling through the draw. Until that fine lass from the Gold Coast, Sam Stosur, provided a final, exhillarating twist in the tale, to make it a match I will remember for a long time now.

We’ve always known that Sam Stosur has the game for a GS title. Her kick serve is one of the best in the business, her success in doubles means she has honed some great reflexes, her fitness and stamina are unmatched, and she has an all-round solid game that players would die for. The problem for her has always been the mental aspect. Doubts have always been raised about the lack of steel in her game, about her ability to close off the crucial points, the big games, and quite justifiably so.

What didn’t seem to help was her personality, or the lack of it. She is quiet and reserved, almost to a fault. In that sense, she is an anachronism in the women’s game of today, with all the fist-pumps and tantrums and modelling assignments and troubled parental problems. In the midst of all that, here’s the lady from Down Under who shies away from the cameras, doesn’t have a star entourage, is not known for eloquent speeches, but continues to go about doing her business and winning tennis matches. Just for the lack of star appeal, I have always wanted her to do well. For the fact she did not represent the razzmatazz of the tennis world. Instead, she stood for the old school ethics of hard work and talent. Her success would, therefore, confirm to the world that the qualities needed to be a champion were pure sporting skills, and not ‘personality’. But that didn’t happen often enough. I watched her fall short in big match after big match against players who didn’t necessarily play better, but just wore their passion more obviously on their sleeves. The best illustration for this was the 2010 French Open final against Schiavone. The Italian was making her dream come true, and was making sure the crowd realised it, in a very Italian way, and they responded. I must admit that I did too, and when Schiavone clambered into her box at the end of the match for a round of impromptu celebrations, I could feel the display of unbridled joy in the camp at that moment. In the other quiet corner, Stosur was silently packing her bags and not getting any face time at all. A match, like so many others, that would be remembered for her opponent’s victory than for Stosur’s loss. It was moments like that which made me ponder and come to the disheartening conclusion that personality was, in fact, an essential ingredient in a tennis champion’s mix today. Maybe, you really needed to blatantly show aggression and passion to convince yourself, your opponent, and the crowd that you had the skills needed to win a tennis GS. And with that sad thought, I had written off Sam Stosur as a Grand Slam champion.

Cut to the 2011 US Open final, and she was facing an opponent who was the epitome of all that she wasn’t. Serena Williams doesn’t lack for too many things on a tennis court, and personality is definitely not one of them. She was also on a comeback trail with a point to prove, had had a ridiculously easy series of wins so far (a rout of the World No.1 being the latest), and was in front of a New York home crowd. It was pretty obvious who the favourite for the title was. But the course of events proved otherwise. I wasn’t surprised to see Sam Stosur take an early lead, and my eyebrows only mildly arose when she won the first set. Because I, like everyone else, was waiting for the Serena Moment to happen. She hadn’t been playing well in the match so far, but we knew from so many times in the past, that this is when Serena is at her most dangerous. When she digs into her passion, her personality (there’s the term again), and comes up with a victory after seemingly running on empty.

And the moment did come early in the second set. The chair umpire got Serena riled up for a legitimate call, she proceeded to work herself up with some typically Serena statements, and sent down a couple of bullet serves and glares that indicated she now meant business. But as I waited to watch the tide turn, incredibly, it didn’t! Sam Stosur held her nerve, and returned blow for heavy blow. Breaks were exchanged, and the longer she held on, the more diluted Serena’s attempt at a momentum rush became. And soon, you could make out that the worst was past and Stosur was in command again. For me, the best part about that period of play was that Stosur rode the Serena wave by being herself. There were no out-of-character attempts to pump herself up, no berating her box for an unforced error. She remained Cool Hand Luke right through, and let her racket do the talking, all the way to her first Grand Slam title.

In the process, she gave me my tennis story for the year, after Djokovic’s incredible run, of course. You dont really need to be a crowd-puller to win Grand Slams, you just need to handle a tennis racket well. I don’t know if she will play it again, but I definitely will be watching and hoping that Sam does.