Australia's Samantha Stosur considers her first Grand Slam final as one of the proudest moments of her career, even after being defeated in straight sets by Italy's Francesca Schiavone at Roland Garros on Sunday.
Stosur powered past former world number one Justine Henin, and the current world number one Serena Williams on her way to the final, only to be outplayed 6-4, 7-6 (7-2) by world number 17 Francesca Schiavone, who became the first Italian woman to win a grand slam title and the second oldest first-time grand slam women's champion.
Although the loss crushed Stosur's bid of ending Australia's 30-year wait for a women's champion at one of the four majors, a streak stretching back to Evonne Goolagong's 1980 Wimbledon win, she took the defeat in her stride.
"To make my first final was fantastic," she said.
"To beat the players that I did to get to that point and everything, it's missing that one thing, and that's winning at the end.
"I can only look at it as a great two weeks. I'm proud of this moment and I want to look at it as a really positive time in my career, my life, and I want to enjoy it as much as I can."
Schiavone, one of the few women to still employ a one-handed backhand, took advantage of the only break of the first set in the ninth game before taking charge of the opener in the 10th when Stosur netted a backhand return.
"She went for it today and everything came off. It takes guts to do that and she did it. I don't think I can really say I did anything wrong. It was just well done to her" Stosur said.
Referred to at times as the "golden rule" of sports, sportsmanship is held in high regard when displayed by athletes, with them competing cleanly and handling both victory and defeat with grace, style, and dignity.
Sportsmanship is a practical example of the 'fruits of the spirit' that Paul talks about in Galatians, being lived out on a daily basis by Christians and non-Christians alike.
"So I say live by the Spirit...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience kindness goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." Galatians 5:16, 22-23
Sportsmanship isn't just reserved for the athletes competing. Spectators, fans, and parents also need to be aware of how they behave during competition. Sportsmanship is a style and an attitude, and it has a positive influence on those around you.