Schiavone, Stosur into Paris final
Source: Agencies |
June 4, 2010, Friday
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FRANCESCA Schiavone became the first Italian woman to reach a grand slam final yesterday, winning her semifinal at the French Open when Elena Dementieva retired with a left calf injury having lost the first set.
After dropping the set 7-6 (3), Dementieva walked up to Schiavone, who was sitting in her changeover chair, and extended her hand. The Russian player sobbed before heading for the exit. It's the first time in the Open era that a woman retired in a semifinal or final at Roland Garros. Dementieva said she suffered a tear in her calf in the second round, and she nearly retired during a match last week.
"It was very painful to even walk," Dementieva said. "It was a bit too much. I couldn't really move on the court."
Schiavone was stunned at first and then became jubilant, falling to her knees to kiss the clay in a reprise of her quarterfinal celebration.
"I've already made history for my country," she said.
At 29, she has never previously been beyond the quarterfinals in a grand slam. She'll play No. 7 Samantha Stosur in the final tomorrow.
Australian Stosur needed just one hour to thrash fourth seed Jelena Jankovic and reach the final yesterday.
Stosur, who put out four-time champion Justine Henin and world No. 1 Serena Williams en route to the last four, sauntered to a 6-1, 6-2 victory on Court Philippe Chatrier.
She is the first Australian woman to reach a grand slam final since Wendy Turnbull in 1980. The world No. 7 has now gone one better than last year when she fell at the semifinal stage.
It's the first time at a major tournament since 1979 that none of the four female semifinalists owned a major title.
Dementieva, who was seeded fifth, didn't seek treatment from a trainer during the 69-minute first set, but she did take a timeout in her quarterfinal victory for a right thigh injury.
"I had seen trainer for so many hours before the match," she said. "I don't think they could do something else that could really help me at that point."
She said she likely would have retired even if she had won the first set.
"It is disappointing to get injured and not use this chance to get further," she said. "But what can I do? I cannot change anything."
Dementieva said she might skip Wimbledon this month.
The No. 17-seeded Schiavone rallied from a 0-2 deficit to win the tiebreaker. Each player lost serve only once in the set, but Dementieva had twice as many errors, 24 to 12, and double-faulted four times. Schiavone is projected to crack the top 10 for the first time next week.
After dropping the set 7-6 (3), Dementieva walked up to Schiavone, who was sitting in her changeover chair, and extended her hand. The Russian player sobbed before heading for the exit. It's the first time in the Open era that a woman retired in a semifinal or final at Roland Garros. Dementieva said she suffered a tear in her calf in the second round, and she nearly retired during a match last week.
"It was very painful to even walk," Dementieva said. "It was a bit too much. I couldn't really move on the court."
Schiavone was stunned at first and then became jubilant, falling to her knees to kiss the clay in a reprise of her quarterfinal celebration.
"I've already made history for my country," she said.
At 29, she has never previously been beyond the quarterfinals in a grand slam. She'll play No. 7 Samantha Stosur in the final tomorrow.
Australian Stosur needed just one hour to thrash fourth seed Jelena Jankovic and reach the final yesterday.
Stosur, who put out four-time champion Justine Henin and world No. 1 Serena Williams en route to the last four, sauntered to a 6-1, 6-2 victory on Court Philippe Chatrier.
She is the first Australian woman to reach a grand slam final since Wendy Turnbull in 1980. The world No. 7 has now gone one better than last year when she fell at the semifinal stage.
It's the first time at a major tournament since 1979 that none of the four female semifinalists owned a major title.
Dementieva, who was seeded fifth, didn't seek treatment from a trainer during the 69-minute first set, but she did take a timeout in her quarterfinal victory for a right thigh injury.
"I had seen trainer for so many hours before the match," she said. "I don't think they could do something else that could really help me at that point."
She said she likely would have retired even if she had won the first set.
"It is disappointing to get injured and not use this chance to get further," she said. "But what can I do? I cannot change anything."
Dementieva said she might skip Wimbledon this month.
The No. 17-seeded Schiavone rallied from a 0-2 deficit to win the tiebreaker. Each player lost serve only once in the set, but Dementieva had twice as many errors, 24 to 12, and double-faulted four times. Schiavone is projected to crack the top 10 for the first time next week.
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