Underdog Italian upsets Stosur to set up final against Sharapova
TACTICAL guile and a whole lot of guts helped Sara Errani upset the heavy-hitting sixth seed Sam Stosur yesterday to reach her first Grand Slam final at the French Open.
She came into the match an overwhelming underdog having never beaten her opponent in five previous attempts, but left shedding tears of joy after masterminding a 7-5 1-6 6-3 victory.
The petite, nimble-footed Italian had been expected to struggle with Stosur’s high, kicking serve and heavy topspin groundstrokes, but contrived to out-think and outmanoeuvre the Australian.
“I have no words, it is incredible,” said a weepy Errani, who collapsed on her back in her moment of victory.
Stosur had fallen into the 21st seed’s intelligently contrived plan to force her opponent out of her comfor t zone and nullify her principal weapons.
She stepped inside the baseline to take the Stosur serve early and looked to keep the Australian on the back foot with some deep, penetrating groundstrokes.
“She is a smart player,” was Stosur’s simple assessment after seeing everything she could throw at her opponent come back with interest.
Stosur, the US Open champion, had been at this stage of the competition twice before.
The sixth seed had also bulldozed her way to the last four without dropping a set.
She was quicker out of the blocks after heavy rain suspended the start of play, taking a 2-0 lead, but Errani claimed the first set by utilising clever angles that crowbarred her opponent out of position.
The Australian struck back with a dominant display of power hitting in the second set, exposing Errani’s lack of a truly penetrating shot of her own.
But just when the momentum had switched in her favour, she froze on the big stage and as she tightened up Errani capitalised on a string of unforced errors to wrap up the match.
“Maybe she had more pressure,” a delighted Errani said. “Maybe I was more focused on the more important moments.”
Errani will play Maria Sharapova in the final tomorrowafter the second seed swept aside Petra Kvitova.
Whether she wins or loses, Errani, who has beaten former champions Ana Ivanovic and Svetlana Kuznetsova en route to the weekend showpiece, will move into the top 10 when the rankings are next published.
“I don’t feel like top 10, so it’s a strange sensation,” a modest Errani said.
“Maybe my problem always was that I couldn’t believe enough to win against the strong players.
“But now I beat three in a row. I’m in the final in a Grand Slam, so I have to try to think a bit differently.”
It was little wonder Sharapova’s jubilant coach was wagging his index finger aloft yesterday as the Russian enjoyed a double celebration after sweeping into her maiden French Open final.
Not only did her 6-3 6-3 humbling of Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova allow her to move within two sets of fulfilling her dream of completing a career Grand Slam but, after a four-year wait, she was finally back on top of the world.
Whether on not Sharapova becomes the newest member of the Roland Garros champions’ club when she takes on Italian outsider Sara Errani tomorrow, the statuesque Russ- ian’s name will be on top of the WTA rankings list on Monday.
“A few years ago I don’t know if I even had a ranking after having my shoulder surgery (in August 2008). It’s pretty special that on Monday I going to be number one again,” a beaming Sharapova told the crowd.
“I’m happy and I’m proud of where I came from… I’ve worked hard to get to this place.” – Reuters
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