Friday, April 27, 2012

Storm stops Stosur's quarter-final bid

Updated April 06, 2012 16:45:28

Samantha Stosur's third round clash at the WTA tournament in Charleston was halted by heavy storms as the Aussie eyed a quarter-final berth against Venus Williams.

Second-seeded Stosur led unseeded Galina Voskoboeva of Kazakhstan 4-2 before being forced off court.

Fifth-seeded Serena Williams overpowered New Zealand's Marina Erakovic 6-2, 6-2 as she and sister Venus edged closer to a clash on the green clay courts.

Serena fired six aces and won 80 per cent of her first serve points to advance to the quarter-finals in emphatic style.

She could face a semi-final showdown with elder sister Venus, who rallied from 2-4 down in her opening set to beat Australian Anastasia Rodionova 7-5, 6-2.

"I hope we both get there," said Serena, who must get past big-hitting German Sabine Lisicki, the sixth seed, in the quarter-finals.

"I have to win another match, and I really, really hope we both get there, so we'll see."

Lisicki rallied from a break down in both sets to beat Kazakhstan's Yaroslava Shvedova 7-5, 6-4.

This is the third time both Williams sisters have played in Charleston in the same year, but the first time both have made the quarters in the same year.

Stosur was left as the highest-ranking player in the field after the injury withdrawal of Agnieska Radwanska, just a day after her triumph in Miami.

Marion Bartoli, the third seed from France, was toppled 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 by 14th-seeded Polona Hercog of Slovenia.

Hercog set up a quarter-final clash with Russian Nadia Petrova, a 6-1, 6-4 winner over eighth-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia.

Fourth-seeded Russian Vera Zvonareva and Czech ninth seed Lucie Safarova set up a quarter-final match-up.

Zvonareva beat Switzerland's Stefanie Voegele 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 and Safarova defeated Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak 6-2, 6-7 (4-7), 6-1.

AFP

Tags: tennis, sport, united-states, australia

First posted April 06, 2012 16:45:28


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