Stosur out of top 100
SAM Stosur will use humbling demotion from the world’s top 100 as a spur to reclaim a place among the elite.
The US Open winner will drop to beyond 100 when the rankings are updated posttournament after a heavy 6-2, 6-0 French Open loss to Garbine Muguruza.
“I think I’m probably dropping out of top 100 now, I think, but anything from here on is going to help,” she said, pointing to the fact she has virtually no points to defend until season’s end after a hand injury kept her on the sidelines.
“So we’ve got a bit of thinking to do tonight, but I definitely intend to keep going and try to really get myself back where I think I’m capable of being.
“To be honest, right now, I’m less concerned about it now than what I probably was in March-April at the start of the clay court season.”
Serena Williams, meanwhile, has turned up the heat ahead of her French Open clash with bitter rival Maria Sharapova, saying the claims about her in the Russian’s book were “hearsay” and not “necessarily true”.
Sharapova, who Williams has beaten 18 times in a row, claimed in her recent memoir Unstoppable that Serena “hated” her for hearing her cry after the 2004 Wimbledon final. The fourth-round match at Roland Garros tonight will be the first time the two have faced off since the American’s win in the 2016 Australian Open quarter-finals — Sharapova’s last match before serving a 15-month doping ban.
“I think the book was 100 per cent hearsay, at least all the stuff I read and the quotes that I read, which was a little bit disappointing,” said Williams after her 6-3, 6-4 third-round win over Julia Goerges.
“I have cried in the locker room many times after a loss, and that’s what I have seen a lot of people do. I think it’s normal.
“It’s a Wimbledon final, you know. So it’s just, like, I think it would be more shocking if I wasn’t in tears.’’
Both are on the road back towards the top of the sport after their recent absences. Williams had played only four matches since taking time off due to pregnancy before arriving at Roland Garros.
Sharapova is seeded for the first time at a Grand Slam since her suspension for using meldonium and is playing her first French Open since 2015 after being refused a wildcard by tournament organisers last year.