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Henin loses to Stosur, who gets S.Williams next
Source: Agencies |
June 1, 2010, Tuesday
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BETRAYED down the stretch by her best stroke, the backhand, and by her usually steely nerves, four-time French Open champion Justine Henin lost to Australia's Sam Stosur 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 in the fourth round yesterday, ending her 24-match winning streak at Roland Garros.
Thanks to her 2005-07 titles at the French Open, and then the time away during a brief retirement, it had been six years since Henin felt the sting of a loss at the clay-court Grand Slam tournament - all the way back in 2004's second round.
Henin has consistently said she's not back to being the player she was before taking a 20-month hiatus from tennis, pointing to too many "ups and downs."
Turns out Henin was right.
"Everyone wants to see me (at) the level that I was," said Henin, who abruptly retired in May 2008 while ranked No. 1, then returned to the tour this season and reached the Australian Open final in January. "I still have to work a lot, quite simply."
Seventh-seeded Stosur, a French Open semifinalist last year enjoying a tour-best 18 wins from 20 matches on clay this year, was aiming higher.
"Obviously, beating Justine is going to give me lots and lots of confidence for the next match," the Australian player said. "That's obviously a great achievement for me, but it's not over yet. I'm just in the quarters and going to play the No. 1 player in the world next."
That would be Serena Williams, who stumbled at the start before cruising to a 6-2, 6-2 victory over No. 18 Shahar Peer of Israel. Williams dropped the first seven points of the match, then immediately took nine a row and was on her way.
"I seem to always be able to turn it up during this particular stage," said Williams, who won two of the past three Grand Slam tournaments and owns 12 major titles.
The other quarterfinal in that half of the draw will be No. 4 Jelena Jankovic of Serbia against 36th-ranked Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan. Jankovic beat No. 23 Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia 6-4, 6-2, while Shvedova eliminated 107th-ranked Jarmila Groth of Australia 6-4, 6-3.
In men's fourth-round matches, four-time champion Rafael Nadal improved to 200-16 on clay over his career by overcoming four breaks of serve to defeat No. 24 Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil 6-2, 7-5, 6-4. A year ago, Nadal lost in the fourth round - he was 31-0 at Roland Garros before that stunning exit against Robin Soderling - but he insisted that didn't make him any more careful this time.
Now Nadal will meet No. 19 Nicolas Almagro, who knocked off No. 7 Fernando Verdasco 6-4, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4. Also yesterday, No. 3 Novak Djokovic of Serbia eliminated American Robby Ginepri 6-4, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2, and No. 22 Jurgen Melzer of Austria beat 114th-ranked qualifier Teimuraz Gabashvili of Russia 7-6 (6), 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.
At 29, Melzer is the oldest man left in the field. He's also reached his first Grand Slam quarterfinal in 32 appearances.
"Well, to be the oldest player is not a special feeling," Melzer said. "Reaching the quarterfinals for the first time - that's a special feeling."
Williams might have forgotten what it feels like to reach the semifinals in Paris: She hasn't been that far at the French Open since 2003, a year after she won her only championship at the tournament.
"I feel prepared every year, and I always dive out in the quarters," Williams said. "I'm just trying to get past that this year, hopefully."
She owns a 3-1 record against Stosur, including a victory at January's Australian Open. Stosur's win came on a hard court at Stanford, California, last year, and Williams was hardly complimentary afterward, saying: "She had a lot of lucky shots; she's a good framer."
Williams had nicer things to say yesterday, calling Stosur "someone you can't overlook," and adding: "She's no pushover, that's for sure."
Told of those remarks, and reminded about what Williams declared in 2009, Stosur smiled.
"I guess a lot of people have changed their idea about what kind of tennis player I am recently," Stosur said. "I guess that's a good thing."
In Tuesday's quarterfinals, defending champion Roger Federer was to face Robin Soderling in a rematch of last year's final. Other matchups were No. 11-seeded Mikhail Youzhny against No. 15 Tomas Berdych, No. 3 Caroline Wozniacki against No. 17 Francesca Schiavone, and No. 5 Elena Dementieva against No. 19 Nadia Petrova.
Thanks to her 2005-07 titles at the French Open, and then the time away during a brief retirement, it had been six years since Henin felt the sting of a loss at the clay-court Grand Slam tournament - all the way back in 2004's second round.
Henin has consistently said she's not back to being the player she was before taking a 20-month hiatus from tennis, pointing to too many "ups and downs."
Turns out Henin was right.
"Everyone wants to see me (at) the level that I was," said Henin, who abruptly retired in May 2008 while ranked No. 1, then returned to the tour this season and reached the Australian Open final in January. "I still have to work a lot, quite simply."
Seventh-seeded Stosur, a French Open semifinalist last year enjoying a tour-best 18 wins from 20 matches on clay this year, was aiming higher.
"Obviously, beating Justine is going to give me lots and lots of confidence for the next match," the Australian player said. "That's obviously a great achievement for me, but it's not over yet. I'm just in the quarters and going to play the No. 1 player in the world next."
That would be Serena Williams, who stumbled at the start before cruising to a 6-2, 6-2 victory over No. 18 Shahar Peer of Israel. Williams dropped the first seven points of the match, then immediately took nine a row and was on her way.
"I seem to always be able to turn it up during this particular stage," said Williams, who won two of the past three Grand Slam tournaments and owns 12 major titles.
The other quarterfinal in that half of the draw will be No. 4 Jelena Jankovic of Serbia against 36th-ranked Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan. Jankovic beat No. 23 Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia 6-4, 6-2, while Shvedova eliminated 107th-ranked Jarmila Groth of Australia 6-4, 6-3.
In men's fourth-round matches, four-time champion Rafael Nadal improved to 200-16 on clay over his career by overcoming four breaks of serve to defeat No. 24 Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil 6-2, 7-5, 6-4. A year ago, Nadal lost in the fourth round - he was 31-0 at Roland Garros before that stunning exit against Robin Soderling - but he insisted that didn't make him any more careful this time.
Now Nadal will meet No. 19 Nicolas Almagro, who knocked off No. 7 Fernando Verdasco 6-4, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4. Also yesterday, No. 3 Novak Djokovic of Serbia eliminated American Robby Ginepri 6-4, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2, and No. 22 Jurgen Melzer of Austria beat 114th-ranked qualifier Teimuraz Gabashvili of Russia 7-6 (6), 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.
At 29, Melzer is the oldest man left in the field. He's also reached his first Grand Slam quarterfinal in 32 appearances.
"Well, to be the oldest player is not a special feeling," Melzer said. "Reaching the quarterfinals for the first time - that's a special feeling."
Williams might have forgotten what it feels like to reach the semifinals in Paris: She hasn't been that far at the French Open since 2003, a year after she won her only championship at the tournament.
"I feel prepared every year, and I always dive out in the quarters," Williams said. "I'm just trying to get past that this year, hopefully."
She owns a 3-1 record against Stosur, including a victory at January's Australian Open. Stosur's win came on a hard court at Stanford, California, last year, and Williams was hardly complimentary afterward, saying: "She had a lot of lucky shots; she's a good framer."
Williams had nicer things to say yesterday, calling Stosur "someone you can't overlook," and adding: "She's no pushover, that's for sure."
Told of those remarks, and reminded about what Williams declared in 2009, Stosur smiled.
"I guess a lot of people have changed their idea about what kind of tennis player I am recently," Stosur said. "I guess that's a good thing."
In Tuesday's quarterfinals, defending champion Roger Federer was to face Robin Soderling in a rematch of last year's final. Other matchups were No. 11-seeded Mikhail Youzhny against No. 15 Tomas Berdych, No. 3 Caroline Wozniacki against No. 17 Francesca Schiavone, and No. 5 Elena Dementieva against No. 19 Nadia Petrova.
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