Samantha Stosur receives the 2010 Newcombe Medal
The 26-year-old Samantha Stosur received the 2010 inaugural Newcombe Medal as Australian tennis' contender of the season on Friday. The former Australian John Newcombe himself awarded the medal to Stosur at the Australian Tennis Awards in Melbourne.
The right hander who made her debut on the WTA tour back in 1999 started her 2010 campaign by playing at the Hopman Cup where she was seeded number one to win the title. She, however, lost her opening tie surprisingly against Sorana
Cirstea of Romania in three sets.
At the year’s opening Grand Slam, the Australian Open in Melbourne, the 1.72 meter tall Stosur beat Han Xinyun in her first round in three sets. The final match score was 6–1 3–6 6–2. In the second round, the Australian star got
the better of Kristina Barrois in two sets followed by another win over Alberta Briati in straight sets with a score line of 6–4 6–1. Next she faced world number one Serena Williams who thrashed her out in two sets. The final match score was 6–4 6–2. Despite
the loss, Stosur improved her ranking to number eleven in the world.
Seeded number eight to win the title at the BNP Paribas Open, the current world number six Stosur received an opening round goodbye. She did well to make her way into the semifinal round after posting victories over Julie Coin,
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez and Vera Zvonareva. In the final four round, the Australian was toppled at the hands of ultimate winner Jelena Jankovic in two sets. The final match score was 6–2 6–4.
Stosur's next competition was the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open in Miami where she entered as the ninth seeded player. After receiving a first round bye, the former world number five posted a hard fought three setter win over Carla Suarez
Navarro in the second round. The final match score was 4–6 7–5 6–2. Her next match was equally tough as she fought till the end to record a 4–6 7–5 6–1 victory over Virginie Razzano. Stosur successfully made her way into the quarters after surpassing Jelena
Jankovic 6–1 7–6 and met Kim Clijsters for a semifinal berth. Clijsters, however, ended Stosur’s run as she dispatched her off in two sets. The final match score was 6–3, 7–5.
The Australian ace however did not lose hope and made her way into the final in the doubles event along with her partner Nadia Petrova without even missing a single set. In the title battle, the pair was eventually beaten by Flavia
Pennetta and Gisela Dulko in three sets. The final match score was 6–3 4–6 10–7.
Her other season highlights include title victories at Family Circle Cup, runner up efforts at the 2010 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, French Open, semifinal appearances at the AEGON International, the 2010 Bank of the West Classic,
WTA Tour Championship and quarterfinal showings at Madrid Open, Mercury Insurance Open, Pilot Pen Tennis, United States Open and 2010 HP Open.
While commenting on her recent achievement, the Brisbane born reflected, "I think it is a great honour. It is a really good initiative of Tennis Australia to put a night like this together for everyone to celebrate our sport. So
to be the first winner of the Newcombe Medal is very special. Tennis is such a huge part of our culture in Australia, we have obviously got a great history and we're trying to continue that now."
Stosur surpassed other finalist’s former top ranked Lleyton Hewitt, Jarmila Groth and Anastasia Rodionova.
Her coach David Taylorm, who is also the Fed Cup skipper of Australian side, was also given the Coaching Excellence, High Performance Award for his exceptional coaching.
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