Simona Halep donates the quarter-final berth to Samantha Stosur – Rogers Cup 2012
World number five, Samantha Stosur, booked a berth in the quarter-final of the Rogers Cup at the expense of the injury-stricken 48th ranked Romanian starlet, Simona Halep.
She won the opening set 7-5 and was tied at 4-4 in the second before the 20-year-old Romanian withdrew from the contest with a left thigh injury.
It was the third battle between the two players and the first one at the hard courts. Last two meeting were in the two different editions of the French Open tournament and at both occurrences, Stosur bagged the win with ease. So,
it was relatively a simple draw for the 28-year-old Aussie starlet who has been down and out in the recent past.
The fourth seed competitor began the Rogers Cup campaign with a serve hold but the Romanian broke serve in the fourth game to take a lead of 3-1. She looked a better player with much more command over her shots.
It’s wasn’t a good sign for the Aussie superstar who will be defending her US Open crown in a month’s time at the hard courts of New York.
Both players swapped breakpoints in the following two games that helped the Romanian booming star to build a strong lead of 5-2 over her competitor.
Stosur held her serve in the eighth game and out of nowhere broke serve to keep the set alive. Scores moved on to 4-5. The Aussie was serving to equalize the scores and more importantly hunting down points to keep the set alive.
Stosur continued to impose her authority and broke serve for the third straight time that helped her take a lead in the opening set for the first time. She held her serve as well the 12th game of the match that disposed
off the scare for the reigning US Open Champion.
The second set witnessed a conventional start. Both players held their serves for the first five games before breaking each other’s serve to keep the scores together. Stosur held her serve and pushed the scores 4-4. It was that
time when Halep felt pain in her right thigh and called off the match.
Stosur faces Lucie Safarova in the quarters.
Tags: