Stosur dominates to claim U.S. Open title over Serena Williams

Samantha Stosur of Australia, completely dominated Serena Williams of the USA to claim the 2011 U.S. Open championship in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3.

Playing in only her 2nd Grand Slam final, Samantha pulled off what many would consider a big upset over 3-time U.S. Open champion, 13-time Grand Slam champion, Serena. It is the first career Grand Slam title for Samantha.

Sharapova ousted by Pennetta at US Open

No. 3 seed, Maria Sharapova of Russia, went down in defeat today to No. 25 ranked Flavia Pennetta of Italy 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in round 3 of the U.S. Open.

Maria’s serve was part of the problem that led to her early exit, committing a dozen double-faults. That really came as no surprise, as Maria’s serve has been causing her lots of problems since her shoulder surgery. What was surprising though was that Maria’s shots let her down in the third set. Maria was unbeaten this year in 12 previous matches that went three sets. But today she dropped the last seven points in a match that lasted 2 1/2 hours. After trailing 3-0 and 4-1 in the last set, Maria turned things around briefly, getting to 4-all, 15-30 on Flavia’s serve, looking once again like she might be able to pull out a come-from-behind 3-setter. But the 2006 U.S. Open champion wouldn’t win another point.

McHale upsets Bartoli at US Open

Teenager Christina McHale of the USA pulled a huge upset over No. 8 seed, Marion Bartoli of France with a straight-sets victory 7-6(2), 6-2 in round 2 of the 2011 US Open.

Nineteen-year-old Christina hit 20 winners, with 28 unforced errors and converted on 5 of 16 break-point opportunities. Marian hit 21 winners with 38 unforced errors while converting on 3 of 5 break point chances.

Venus Williams withdraws from the U.S. Open

Two-time champion Venus Williams of the USA has withdrawn from the U.S. Open due to an illness.

Williams was scheduled to play 22nd-seeded Sabine Lisicki in the 2nd round.

In a statement afterward, she said: “I have been recently diagnosed with Sjogren’s Syndrome, an autoimmune disease which is an ongoing medical condition that affects my energy level and causes fatigue and joint pain.”

The 31-year-old 36th ranked Williams pulled out of two hard-court tuneup tournaments this summer because of a virus. In her first match in two months, Williams beat 91 ranked Vesna Dolonts of Russia 6-4, 6-3 in round one at Flushing Meadows on Monday.

French Open champion, Li Na, upset in first round of US Open

No. 6 seed and reigning French Open champion, Li Na of China, was disappointed early at the U.S. Open by No. 53 ranked Simona Halep of Romania. It was over in two quick sets, 6-2, 7-5.

Halep was playing in only her second U.S. Open. She lost last year in the first round. That makes this a very amazing win for the 19-year-old teenager over a veteran Grand Slam champion.

Halep played a much cleaner game, committing just 19 unforced errors, compared to Li’s 54.

Sharapova survives scare at U.S. Open

No. 4 seed, Maria Sharapova, survived a scare in the first round of the U.S. Open, narrowly defeating 19-year-old Heather Watson of England, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.

Sharapova, who won the U.S. Open in 2006, needed 2 hours, 34 minutes to beat the British teenager, who is ranked No. 104 in the world. Watson was making her U..S. Open debut.

Sharapova had to overcome 58 unforced errors and eight double faults to bring her 2011 record to 12-0 in 3-set matches.

Wimbledon champ, Kvitova, ousted at U.S. Open

Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic, who won her first major title at Wimbledon last month, has been sent home early by No. 49 ranked Alexandra Dulgheru of Romania. It was a straight-sets victory, 7-6(3), 6-3 for the 22-year-old Dulgheru who has only two career WTA singles titles.

Kvitova became the first reigning women’s Wimbledon champion to lose in the first round of the U.S. Open in the modern era, not a distinction one wants to have.

Clijsters will not defend her U.S Open title

The U.S. Open has lost three-time and defending champion, Kim Clijsters. She informed tournament officials Friday that she would be unable to participate in the season’s final major because of a strained abdominal muscle.

Clijsters, who missed Wimbledon with an ankle injury, pulled out of a tournament in Toronto this month with a muscle strain on the left side of her stomach. In a statement Friday, she said “two weeks of rehab is not enough to heal this injury.”

“Obviously I’m very disappointed,” she said. “I trained very hard this summer and felt in a good shape to play the U.S. Open.”

Clijsters claims her third U.S. Open Title

Kim Clijsters claimed her third U.S. Open Title today in convincing fashion, defeating Vera Zvonareva in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1.

Kim served to open the match. Both players held serve for the first five games, with Kim holding only a slight edge in the quality of play, which was high.

Kim held serve at love in the 5th game, to make the score 3-2. When Vera served, she put the ball into the net with a forehand at 30-40 to bring up the first break point, the sent the ball long with a backhand to give Kim the break.

Clijsters defeats Venus Williams for spot in U.S. Open Final

Defending champion Kim Clijsters reached the final again at the U.S. Open by defeating the No. 3 seed and 2-time U.S. Open champion, Venus Williams 4-6, 7-6(7-2), 6-4.

Kim won her 20th straight U.S. Open match in the 2-hour, 23-minute semifinal match at the National Tennis Cernter in New York. She knocked off Venus last year in the fourth round of the U.S. Open and then beat her sister in the semifinals when Serena Williams was given a point penalty to end the match after berating an official over a foot-fault call.