Australia is celebrating the remarkable sporting achievement of Samantha Stosur in the US Open final against Serena Williams, but also the triumph of the great Australian character.
The Williams sisters have dominated the women’s game over the past 10 years, to a greater extent than any two players that have dominated this sport — an achievement made even more remarkable by their close sibling relationship.
The Williams sisters have taken a game previously considered by many Americans to be a country club sport, and ended forever the racial barriers that Arthur Ashe and the first great African-American player Althea Gibson initially confronted.
Sam’s victory is a study of the value of competition in the development of her game and her character.
In 2005 I travelled extensively with Sam in my role as captain of the Federation Cup team.
In the lead-up to Wimbledon that year, Sam lost to defending champion Maria Sharapova in a magnificent three-set match that could have gone either way.
I went on the record to say that, on this form, Sam could one day win Wimbledon. This was dismissed by many as an exaltation of an overenthusiastic coach.
Sam was injured the following day and her preparation for Wimbledon was greatly impaired, and she lost in the first round.
In order to maintain our team morale we had a chant: one person would inquire “What time is it?” and, regardless of the circumstances, the answer had to be “The best time of our lives”.
Unknown to me at the time, this chant would come in very useful in my future career as I marshalled volunteers in sometimes trying weather conditions, doorknocking constituent homes across Bennelong .
At the 2005 US Open, Sam again met with the ultimate disappointment of losing in the first round; to an opponent she had every right to expect to beat.
At the end of the long walk back to the locker room, I asked Sam: “What time is it?” Clearly upset, but her sense of humour still intact, she replied sardonically: “Not the best time of my life.”
About 10 days later, Sam played magnificently to win the US Open Doubles with Lisa Raymond, becoming the world No.2 doubles team. They went one better the following year.
The scrutiny of competition has not always been kind to Sam, but the one constant in her rise has been her steadfast commitment to learn from each setback and build a better game and stronger character.
Today, she entered a stadium in New York City named after the greatest African American male tennis player the world had seen, Arthur Ashe, and was drawn to play the greatest player of her era, Serena Williams, at a time when women’s tennis has gone from strength to strength.
To add to the drama it was the 10-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks on New York, which occurred two days after Lleyton Hewitt had won his first grand slam — the last Australian male or female to win the US Open.
The weight of history pressed down hard upon her, as the first Australian woman to make the US Open final since the glory days of the 1970s when Margaret Court, Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Wendy Turnbull and Kerry Reid all played for this major trophy.
Under these extraordinary conditions, facing the greatest challenge of her tennis career and test of her character, Sam’s day had come.
The beauty of this story is that every Australian would recognise that Sam’s success has been earned through selfless dedication and hard work. And throughout all this, Sam remains the same modest, almost shy, young woman, who has now achieved such greatness.
All Australians would agree, Sam, this is the best time of your life.
John Alexander is the federal member for Bennelong. In a tennis career stretching from the late-60s to the mid-80s, he won 7 singles titles and 27 doubles titles.
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