Defending champion against the world number one in quarter-finals – Tennis News
Quarter-final stage for the US Open Championships is all set and the defending champion, Samantha Stosur, will take up her ultimate challenge to face the blistering world number one, Victoria Azarenka, on Tuesday afternoon. The
seventh ranked Aussie number one has been in superb form throughout the Grand Slam event so far but the crunch encounter is yet to come.
Stosur’s 2011 US Open title victory was seen as a mere fluke but her voyage in the current edition has been absolutely phenomenal. The seventh seed Australian has not dropped a single set en route to the quarter-finals but it is
also to be noted that she hasn’t faced a worthy opponent. The only seeded player she played against was the 31st seed American, Varvara Lepchenko, in the third round. She has been quite lucky to have relatively weaker opponents in the initial four
rounds of the tournament.
18-year-old British tennis sensation, Laura Robson, has been the real surprise package in the tournament. She registered two back-to-back major upsets in the tournament by disposing of the three-time former US Open champion, Kim
Clijsters and then the former French Open champion, Li Na. She was expected to give some real tough time to Stosur in the fourth round clash but the Aussie champ had no difficulties in sidelining her in twin sets 6-4, 6-4, on Sunday.
On the other hand, Azarenka has been the real demolition force at the top of the tournament draw. She has lost barely 10 games in the four matches she played, annihilating all of her rivals in straight sets to book a date with
Stosur. Anna Tatishvili of Georgia was her latest victim on Sunday’s eve, as she overwhelmed her 6-2, 6-2, in an assertive manner.
Azarenka has beaten Stosur six times in the past, riding a 6-0 head-to-head lead against the Australian number one. Stosur has not even won a single set in all of those six encounters, facing humiliating defeats every time she
stepped on court against the mighty Belarusian.
"I have not done well against her in the past," Stosur said. "I think there's a few things I've learnt over those last few matches. Hopefully I can put all those into play and have a better match. I look forward to that opportunity
again - I think quarterfinals of another Slam, you've got to give it everything you've got."
Stosur might be rated as the underdog against the top seeded Azarenka but her last year’s success at the Flushing Meadows Park will certainly boost up her confidence to register the biggest upset of the tournament on Tuesday.
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