French Open: 21st-seed Errani beats Stosur to reach final

By Web Desk Jun 7th, 2012 ( No Comment )

Paris: Italy’s Sara Errani reached Grand Slam final for the first time on Thursday, beating Australian Samantha Stosur 7-5, 1-6, 6-3 in the French Open.

She will be face to face on Saturday with either Maria Sharapova (Russia) or Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic), and will be the second Italian woman to win the French Open, two years after Francesca Schiavone’s breakthrough triumph and the first player ranked outside the world top 20 to win in Paris since 1976, AFP reported.

“I have no words, it’s incredible. It was very windy and one side was easy and the other side more diffcult. It’s an amazing feeling. I did not expect this and I can’t believe it,” she said.

After an 80-minute rain delay, the players got the first of the day’s semis underway in bright sunshine and it was the 28-year-old Australian who settled in fastest.

A comfortable service hold to open was followed by a first break of serve with her trademark top-spin forehand again doing most of the damage.

Serves were held comfortably until the 11th game when Stosur again lost her touch and timing, netting an easy volley at the net on the third break point to Errani. The 21st-seeded Italian served out to take the first set.

Stosur struggled to hold serve at the start of the second set as Errani continued to run her ragged at times with her angled and varied shot-making, but it was the Australian who bagged the first break in the next game.

That set off a run of five games in a row for the US Open champion as she began to use her power to outgun her Italian opponent. Stosur put away the set 6-1.

The momentum switched again though at the start of the deciding set as Stosur started to misfire on serve and with her groundstrokes.

Errani moved 3-0 up, only for Stosur to break back and level at 3-3. With the wind getting up, the outcome of what had been a topsy-turvy match was on a knife-edge and, at 3-4 down, Stosur ceded serve once again, saving two break points, only to hit a forehand long and wide on a third.

Errani served out for the biggest win of her career.