Sam Stosur Close to Grabbing Roland Garros Title, Enters Quarterfinals
Doors are opening for an Australian win in the women's French Open crown this year as Queensland native Samantha Stosur advanced Sunday into the quarterfinal round of the ongoing Paris Grandslam.
Ms Stosur turned backed yesterday the fiery efforts of American teenage sensation Sloane Stephens, 7-5 6-4, closing-in for the second ticket to finally win at Roland Garros following the heartbreaking loss she suffered last year at the hands of Italy's Francesca Schiavone.
Her win came as world number one Victoria Azarenka, Ms Stosur's perennial conqueror, crashed out of the tournament in a 6-2 7-6 (7-4) loss to Dominika Cibulkova, the next slugger that the Aussie must deal with in her campaign to pocket a second Grandslam win.
The first one she fashioned out in the 2011 edition of the U.S. Open by trashing in two straight sets, 6-2 6-4, former world number one Serena Williams of the United States.
Ms Stosur remains as one of the few seeded females in the tournament and the only one still standing in her bracket, virtually making her a shoo-in in the final two of the Paris tilt, which she almost took home in 2011.
The odds against the country's pride have been greatly diminished, experts noted, as the tennis world on early Sunday saw the exit of Ms Stosur's Belarusian nemesis, Azarenka, at the hands of a Slovakian foe that has yet to collect a win against the top seed in the past four years.
The Azarenka that France saw flashing her wares in Paris was far from the one who climbed to the top spot in previous tourneys, struggling even at the initial rounds of the competition, which already saw the annihilation of other top contenders such as Ms Williams, who departed in the first round.
Against Ms Cibulkova, Ms Azarenka again failed to clear her unfortunate run at Roland Garros, where she was forced out five times prior to the round of eight in seven previous outings.
According to the Australian Associated Press (AAP), Ms Azarenka was so frustrated at her game yesterday that she earned a warning from the game umpire for twice slamming her racquet.
"I don't know how to describe my performance really today. It wasn't satisfying at all," the Belarusian told AAP in admitting that she lost to the better player, Cibulkova, who will next face Ms Stosur for a spot on the semi-final round.
Judging from Ms Stosur's performance against Ms Stephens, who kept her at her toes for much of the one-hour and 23-minute spar, it will not be an easy-sailing for the Australian bet as Ms Cibulkova - a one-time semi-finalist in Paris, is known for thriving in marathon games.
Slew of unforced errors prevented the Aussie from disposing early her American opponent, wasting a commanding 5-1 lead in the second set and eventually getting only the win when Ms Stephens succumbed to pressure and inexperience in the closing games of the match.