PARIS – Big-hitting Samantha Stosur is hoping her booming service power, described as being like a man’s by a rival, will make her the first Australian woman to reach a French Open final for 30 years.
Not since 1979, when Wendy Turnbull was defeated in straight sets by Chris Evert, has an Australian woman contested the Roland Garros title match, while it’s been 36 years since the last Aussie winner, Margaret Smith-Court.
Stosur, the 30th seed, faces unseeded Romanian Sorana Cirstea in the last eight on Wednesday where a win will make her the first Australian in a French Open semi-final since Nicole Provis in 1988.
The 25-year-old’s power could prove crucial in the last-eight tie.
‘She serves like a man,’ said Frenchwoman Virginie Razzano, who won just three games in her defeat to Stosur in the fourth round.
‘She has the best serve as a woman on the tour. I’d say she serves even better than Serena or Venus, because she can do all types of serves.
‘Also, she has control over all types of serves, all the zones of the court, as well. It’s not just her serves. Her big, strong forehand, which is inside-out, and so powerful, and with a spin on it so you don’t know where the ball is going to go.’
Stosur admitted she knows virtually nothing about the 19-year-old Cirstea, who knocked out fifth seed Jelena Jankovic to reach her first Grand Slam quarter-final.
The 41st-ranked Romanian, who is still finishing high school where geography is her favourite subject, is discovering new territory in Paris.
She is the first Romanian woman in a Grand Slam quarter-final since Irina Spirlea at the 1997 US Open and she has been attracting new fans along the way, including Romanian tennis great Ilie Nastase. – Nampa-AFP
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