Sam Stosur knocks Justine Henin out of French Open
Four-times French Open champion Justine Henin has been knocked out of the French Open in the fourth round by world No. 7 Sam Stosur.
Henin, returning to Roland Garros for the first time since being crowned champion in 2007, took the first set 6-2 in just 32 minutes but the Australian hit back to level the match at one set apiece after taking the second set 6-1.
To that point, the match was starting to mirror the final of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart this spring, where Henin also won the opening set before she was pegged back by Stosur before taking the match and the title in three sets (6-4, 2-6, 6-1).
Stosur, a semi-finalist at Roland Garros last year, was not content to let this fourth-round encounter meander on to the same conclusion.
In a tightly contested third set, the seventh seed gained the crucial advantage when she broke Henin to lead 5-4 and earn the opportunity to serve for the match. With arguably the biggest win of Stosur’s career there for the taking, the 26-year-old held her nerve better than Henin at the tournament the former world No. 1 referred to as her “garden” before the competition kicked off this year.
On Suzanne Lenglen Court today, however, it was Stosur who sowed the seeds of success, moving to a 40-15 lead and double match point in what was to be the deciding game of the match, and claiming the victory by putting away – quite emphatically – an easy overhead on the second match point she’d constructed.
"I can't really believe it," Stosur said courtside after the match. “I told myself to just keep going [after losing the first set]. I believed in myself."
There’s no time to celebrate for Stosur, however, as she attempts to carve a path through what is without doubt the more difficult half of the women’s draw.
Next up is Serena Williams who booked her place in the final eight at the French Open with a routine 6-2, 6-2 victory over Shahar Peer.
Peer, seeded 18th at Roland Garros, had already lost to Venus Williams three times this season and the younger Williams sister proved to be an equally tough proposition for the Israeli.
Serena served six aces and hit 18 winners on her way to the quarter-finals of the tournament she won all the way back in 2002.
A dip in form in the middle of her third round match against world No. 29 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova aside – and that was cured after the doctor was called onto court and a couple of pills rejuvenated a hitherto ailing Serena – the world No. 1 has been in title-winning form.
The next step is getting past Stosur and that’s no easy feat.
Just ask Henin.
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