Samantha Stosur rallies past Ana Ivanovic to reach the final – Kremlin Cup 2012
In a thrilling battle between the two top class athletes of the women tennis, Samantha Stosur stole a win after rallying a set down to take out Ana Ivanovic of Serbia in the semi-final clash of the Kremlin Cup on Saturday. It was a terrific battle between the two experienced personnel and lasted an hour and 50 minutes featuring a score line of 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 in favour of Stosur.
In the four previous meeting between the two contestants, they shared the result with two victories apiece. However, they hadn’t seen each other at the courts for almost three years so it was kind of a novel experience for both of them. The top seed Aussie dug deep and shattered the dreams of the former world number one.
Stosur said in an interview at the end of the match, “This is one of those surfaces you really have to get used to. Not every shot is going to feel perfect.”Talking about her opponent, she said, “She was definitely playing quite well in the first set, getting the first good shot of the rally and putting me on the defensive - so I had to turn it around. In the second set I started to serve better and step into my returns, too. I really improved my movement and was able to get the first shot myself, and from there I was able to do it for the rest of the match. Even though I didn't win the first set, I thought I could win."
Ivanovic broke serve in the third game but just to see her opponent winning back a breakpoint in the following game. However, she repeated the performance in the fifth game and protected it with a serve hold this time around. Stosur failed to handle the onslaught and gifted another breakthrough to her rival who took away the opening set with an easy serve hold.
Both players fought rigorously in the second set before Ivanovic stooped in the eighth game to allot her opponent a breakpoint. The momentum swirled in favour of Stosur who won two back-to-back breakpoints in the final set to book a last stage showdown against Caroline Wozniacki.
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