Samantha Stosur routs Maria Sharapova in the last eight – Toray Pan Pacific Open 2012
World number nine, Samantha Stosur, turned the tables on the former world number one, Maria Sharapova, in the quarter-final of the Toray Pan Pacific Open on Thursday. She clasped the triumph in straight sets 6-4, 7-6(10).
Sharapova lasted an hour and 53 minutes in the contest but was unlucky to lose it in that fashion. She had a lead of 4-3 in the opening set but couldn’t protect it with the serve hold that equalized the scores at 4-4. So, it was
a close beginning for her. She missed a breakpoint from a whisker in the following game. However, the luck ran against her favour in the 10th game that forced her to drop the second breakpoint as well as the opening set of the match.
The second set witnessed a serve hold at both ends followed by a swap of breakpoints that kept the scores together at 2-2. Both players capitalized on their serves in the following three games before trading breakpoints to stay
close. The following three games were held successfully by serve players that enforced the tie-breaker.
Sharapova fought deep but couldn’t overpower the contestant who defeated her just once in their last 11 meetings. So, it was a positive result for the 28-year-old Aussie superstar who advances into the last four of the tournament.
In an in-court interview, Stosur stated, “I lost nine points in a row from 5-3 up in the second set, but I knew I had to turn it around and not let that continue. I had a good start in the tie-break and it really helped me forget
about all of that. It was a close tie-break. I had some match points - if you miss a few in a row you think about it, but I stayed positive and kept going for it, and it paid off."
Later, the top seed Victoria Azarenka withdrew from the contest against Angelique Kerber due to dizziness that meant the Top-2 seeds were sent packing without a semi-final appearance in the tournament.
Nadia Petrova and Samantha Stosur will be playing for a final spot on Friday.
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