Stosur sends Maria packing
28 Sep 2012 2:44 AM GMT
Sam Stosur knocked two-time champion Maria Sharapova out of the Pan Pacific Open on Thursday, reaching the semifinals with a 6-4, 7-6 (10) victory over the Russian.
Stosur broke Sharapova to go up 5-3 in the second set but then lost nine straight points as the Russian sent the match to a tiebreaker, which Stosur won on her fifth match point when Sharapova returned long.
‘I knew that I had lost nine points and was just trying to stop the momentum swing,’ Stosur said. ‘I wasn’t thinking about the points I lost but was focusing on how I was going to make the next points.’
Top-ranked Victoria Azarenka withdrew after a bout of dizziness in her third-round match on Wednesday, sending Angelique Kerber of Germany to the semifinals.
Also, Nadia Petrova of Russia, trailing 4-1 in the second set, overcame sixth-seeded Sara Errani of Italy 3-6, 7-5, 6-3. She will next face Stosur on Friday. Defending champion and third-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland beat former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 6-3 in the late quarterfinal and will face Kerber in the semifinals on Friday.
‘She played a very steady game and I had a few more unforced errors than I would like,’ Sharapova said.
Stosur broke Sharapova to go up 5-3 in the second set but then lost nine straight points as the Russian sent the match to a tiebreaker, which Stosur won on her fifth match point when Sharapova returned long.
‘I knew that I had lost nine points and was just trying to stop the momentum swing,’ Stosur said. ‘I wasn’t thinking about the points I lost but was focusing on how I was going to make the next points.’
Top-ranked Victoria Azarenka withdrew after a bout of dizziness in her third-round match on Wednesday, sending Angelique Kerber of Germany to the semifinals.
Also, Nadia Petrova of Russia, trailing 4-1 in the second set, overcame sixth-seeded Sara Errani of Italy 3-6, 7-5, 6-3. She will next face Stosur on Friday. Defending champion and third-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland beat former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 6-3 in the late quarterfinal and will face Kerber in the semifinals on Friday.
‘She played a very steady game and I had a few more unforced errors than I would like,’ Sharapova said.
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