Serena Williams defeats Stosur 6-4, 6-2 to win second career Rogers Cup title
TORONTO - Serena Williams captured the Rogers Cup women's tennis title Sunday to continue a remarkable comeback from injury and illness.
The 29-year-old American star dispatched No. 10-seed Samantha Stosur of Australia 6-4, 6-2 to win her first Rogers title since claiming the Canadian tournament crown in 2001.
The Rogers Cup was just Williams's fourth tournament since being sidelined for 49 weeks, first with a foot injury she suffered when she stepped on a piece of glass in a restaurant in Germany, and then with blood clots in her lungs.
The mighty Williams had Stosur on her heels all match long with her powerful strokes. She broke the 27-year-old Aussie to go up 5-4 in the opening set and would break her twice more in the second in the one hour and 17-minute match, winning in emphatic fashion with her ninth ace of the game.
The former top-ranked Williams, a 13-time Grand Slam champion, was unseeded in the tournament and is ranked just 80th in the world as she continues her comeback.
She's projected to rise to No. 31 in next week's rankings, and will definitely be a favourite at the upcoming U.S. Open.
Toronto rapper Drake was among fans in the almost-full Rexall Stadium. Williams dad and longtime coach Richard was also in attendance. He and wife Lakeisha stood on centre-court holding Serena's two small, white dogs as she accepted her crystal trophy.
And while thunderstorms were forecast for the city Sunday, the weather held up until the skies opened up just as Williams and Stosur had left the court.
Americans Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond were awarded the women's doubles title, meanwhile, after Victoria Azarenka of Belarus and Maria Kirilenko of Russia withdrew, citing an right hand injury to Azarenka.
Williams, who earned US$360,000 for her victory, had dispatched Azarenka 6-3, 6-3 in their semifinal Saturday.
Stosur pocketed $180,000 as runner-up.
Issue of grunting in tennis on WTA chairman Stacey Allaster's radar
TORONTO - The decibel level surely reached a tournament-high Saturday night at the Rexall Centre.
And it had nothing to do with the size of the crowd.
Victoria Azarenka of Belarus was playing American Serena Williams in a battle of tennis grunters — Azarenka well-known for her drawn-out high-pitched wail, Williams more for a pure, guttural grunt.
Many fans have long called for grunting to be banned in tennis, because it's distracting, and Stacey Allaster, Canada's chairman and CEO of the WTA, said the issue is definitely on her radar.
"We have a hindrance rule," Allaster said in a news conference Saturday, prior to being inducted into the Rogers Cup Hall of Fame. "The reality of it is the athletes themselves are not coming to me say, we have an issue. (But) I'm very fan-centric and if there is a number of fans who are communicating with us that it's an issue, then it's something that we need to look at."
Azarenka's wail is the subject of numerous YouTube videos, with titles like "Hilarious Tennis Grunt" and "The Groans of Victoria Azarenka." Several fans in the stadium Saturday night mimicked the Belarusian's cry.
Allaster, a native of Windsor, Ont., said the chair umpire has the authority to implement a no-grunting rule if it's believed to be interfering with the competition.
The grunting is more prevalent in women's tennis, but "unfortunately it's just (women's) decibels are a little bit higher," Allaster said.
It would be difficult, she added, to change the behaviour of existing athletes such as Azarenka, because it's how they've trained and played their entire careers.
Tennis legend Martina Navratilova has been vocal about grunting, calling it a form of cheating, telling reporters in 2009 that "The grunting has reached an unacceptable level. It is cheating, pure and simple. It is time for something to be done."
Allaster pointed out that technology has amplified the grunting issue.
"I think broadcasters have done a terrific job with technology to animate the stadium so it is amplified slightly," she said.
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