Goolagong Cawley hails long-awaited Australian win

Evonne Goolagong Cawley, the last Australian woman to win a Grand Slam singles title, didn’t wait long to congratulate the next, texting Sam Stosur moments after her US Open win to say: “Twinkletoes, you finally have got what you deserved.”

Goolagong Cawley, who won her second Wimbledon title in 1980, was in Australia’s capital city of Canberra on Monday morning with 100 Aboriginal work experience students. A television was brought into a hotel meeting room so Goolagong Cawley could watch the last part of Stosur’s 6-2, 6-3 win over Serena Williams, which ended the 31-year drought for Australian women at tennis majors.

“I couldn’t be more delighted, it’s been a great morning, the best in Australia for years,” said Goolagong Cawley, who first selected Stosur on an Australiain Fed Cup team 10 years ago.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard also congratulated Stosur, saying: “She has shown great determination and skill and everyone involved with tennis in Australia will be celebrating with her.”

Stosur has set her sights on more success at the highest level after stunning Williams. The Australian was playing in her second Grand Slam final, having lost to Francesca Schiavone at the French Open last year and yesterday’s victory earned her only her third singles title on the elite tour.

The most impressive thing was the way Stosur played against an opponent who was on an 18-match winning streak and who had not lost a set in the tournament going into the final.

The 27-year-old took the fight to Williams from the first point, powering returns back at the American and dictating the match with her serve and her forehand. Assessing the impact her victory will have, she said: “I’d like to be able to continue this. I guess time will tell. For sure it will just reinstate that belief and confidence in myself. Hopefully this is the first day of a new beginning for me as a player.”

It was not the first US Open title for Stosur, who also won the women’s doubles in 2005, when she was known primarily for her prowess in that form of the game. But a long spell out with Lyme Disease in 2007 and 2008 prompted her to refocus her efforts on singles.

She said: “I had that great success in doubles and that was fantastic but once I got over that illness, then I didn’t want to leave anything to chance. It’s something that I’ve worked very hard for and now to actually get that huge reward is very pleasing.”

She added of her illness: “I always tried to believe it would be possible to come back from that and I was very lucky that I did recover very quickly and get back on the court and do what I wanted to do. You don’t necessarily always get a second chance.”