Stosur's intoxicating mix of strength, spin, movement and court craft was the performance of a worthy US Open champion. She made the sport seem simple in New York, yet nothing about Stosur's story is that.
To reach this final, Stosur succeeded in the longest women's match ever played in New York and then prevailed in the lengthiest tiebreaker in women's tennis.
She was welcomed to New York by Hurricane Irene, shunted to an outside court for her semi-final victory, faced repeated rain interruptions and then showed up Serena with both her tennis and sportsmanship.
It is the obstacles that Stosur has overcome, including the debilitating Lyme disease just four years ago that could have killed her career, and the courage and humble manner in which she did so that makes this success the sweetest, that defines her as a worthy champion.
The victory was obviously well received at home given it ended a 31-year drought dating back to Evonne Goolagong Cawley's second Wimbledon title in 1980, with Margaret Court's title triumph in 1973 in New York an eternity ago. It resonated in the political halls of power, with Julia Gillard quick to congratulate the Queenslander.
But, in a testament to Stosur's popularity on tour, the success was most warmly welcomed by her peers and champions of both genders, among them former world No 1 Lindsay Davenport who said the Australian "played so well and handled it all with class".
The poise and grace she displayed against Williams (in stark contrast to another atrocious outburst from the American that may see her banned from next year's US Open) is a feature of her character far beyond the baseline.
As her former coach Craig Morris, who watched the match with dozens of Tennis Australia employees at Melbourne Park, says: "Sam is now a grand slam champion on court but has always been a grand slam person off it.
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