US Open 2010 – Samantha Stosur defeats Elena Dementieva, powers into quarterfinal against Kim Clijsters
The US Open is moving into the fourth gear with record breaking speeds. Only on Sunday, Australia’s Samantha Stosur defeated Russia’s Elena Dementieva in a record-breaking match, lasting for almost three hours on Sunday at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York. The match was to determine which player would proceed to the quarter-finals against defending champion Kim Clijsters.
12th seed Dementieva had made her way into the third round after defeating 24th seed Slovak player Daniela Hantuchova to proceed to the fourth round against Stosur. Meanwhile, fifth seed Samantha Stosur played and won against 37th seed Sara Errani to make the cut for the fourth round of the US Open 2010.
Dementieva and Stosur competed in what various twitter reports have already dubbed as ‘the match of the year’ and ‘pure drama, maybe even better’. The two hours, thirty-eight minute long match is the first women’s singles match in US Open history to finish this late (around 1: 40 am). Tennis great turned commentator Martina Navratilova announced on national TV, “Nobody trains to go to play at midnight... I never played a singles match this late.’’
Stosur is known for her aggressive game and she lived up to this reputation in the first set, clinching a 6-3 win within 36 minutes. However, Dementieva forced Stosur into a third set with snappy hitting which put Stosur’s forehand at a serious disadvantage. A noticeable difference was apparent between Stosur’s near flawless play in the first set and her obviously upset performance in the second. Although she fought to keep the set, Stosur eventually surrendered the second set 2-6 to Dementieva’s precise strokes. With one set apiece, the match moved on to the third set to determine the winner.
The third set was arguably the most gruelling one ever at the US Open 2010. Until the game had concluded, the winner remained a toss-up between either player. The length of the match began to take its toll on Dementieva, who had maintained her composure thus far.
During this set, both Stosur and Dementieva gained advantage over each other on two occasions, one of which resulted in one of the four match points earned by Dementieva in the 9th game. Three of these four advantage points were reduced to deuce, with the fourth one giving Stosur the upper hand into a 3rd set tiebreak. Due to a plethora of errors on Dementieva’s part, Stosur took the tie break 7-2 in a surprise win for the Australian. It was a climax no one would have anticipated. Stosur seemed exhausted and tired out halfway into the second set, making a miraculous comeback after beating Dementieva’s match point in the 9th game.
Although it came as a bitter disappointment for the Russian, who played a near-perfect match, kudos to Stosur for her relentless effort, which paid off in a 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(2) win. The 26-year-old will now move on the US Open quarter-final for a last-eight match against defending US Champion Kim Clijsters on Tuesday, the 7th of September, 2010.
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