The dominance of Australian tennis players in the years leading up to, and during, the Open Era was more than just highlighted by the imperial performances of “Rocket” Rod Laver, et al. on the men’s tour. On the women’s side, Players like Margaret Smith Court, Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Lesley Turner Bowrey and Wendy Turnbull helped to comprise an armada that left an indelible impression on Grand Slams in that era as much as their male counterparts.
While Pat Cash, Patrick Rafter, Lleyton Hewitt and The Woodies (Tood Woodbridge, Mark Woodforde) continued the high standard of championship-caliber tennis, it took a while before an Australian on the women’s tour reached the pinnacle in a Grand Slam. But that all changed in 2011, when Samantha Stosur, already and accomplished doubles player on the tour, made her breakthrough as a singles player and won the 2011 U.S. Open. As the 2014 edition on the U.S. Open gets underway, A Lot of Sports Talk‘s Adesina O. Koiki caught up with Stosur at the Connecticut Open in New Haven, where she ended up making the semifinals. In our conversation, Stosur talks about what she thinks about her form going into the final major of the year, her memories of winning in 2011, as well as her favorite part of being in New York City outside of winning the and her preference of rugby/football in the Land Down Under.
Please enjoy our interview, and stay tuned to A Lot of Sports Talk for coverage of the 2014 U.S. Open, including our “Around the Grounds” installments as we live blog matches from the U.S. Open while walking around the outer courts.
[audio:https://s3.amazonaws.com/ALOST/Sam+Stosur+interview.mp3]
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