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Samantha Stosur has stormed her way into the quarter-finals at the French Open, the first Australian woman to do so in 21 years.
Stosur saw off hometown favourite, Frenchwoman Virginie Razzano, 6-1 6-2 in their fourth-round clash on centre court at Roland Garros on Monday.
The 25-year-old Queenslander’s victory makes her the first Australian woman to reach the last eight at the Open since Nicole Provis in 1988.
Waiting for Stosur in the quarter-finals will be 19-year-old Romanian world No.41 Sorana Cirstea, who earlier had a surprise 3-6 6-0 9-7 win over Serbia’s former world No.1 and fifth seed Jelena Jankovic.
Stosur’s win against Razzano marks her best ever performance at a grand slam, surpassing her previous pinnacle of making the fourth-round at the Australian Open in 2006.
Asked how she felt to be the first Australian woman quarter-finalist in 21 years in Paris, Stosur said she was surprised.
“I didn’t know that,” she told reporters.
“I’m very happy. Yeah, just great.”
Razzano told reporters she always knew she was going to have a tough match against Stosur and had struggled with the Australian’s powerful serves and big forehand.
“This was an excellent match for her,” Razzano said.
“Unfortunately there’s nothing I could do on the court. For me, it was a tough match.
“I had played against her just once, but a long time ago, so I didn’t have many landmarks with her, even though I had a number of tips from my coaches.”
Stosur broke the Frenchwoman twice in the first set to race into the lead after Razzano failed to convert five break points.
The Australian enjoyed another two early breaks in the second set to go 4-1 ahead as Razzano struggled with her returns.
But after winning the next game, Stosur failed to convert six match points in the seventh.
She managed to wrap up proceedings shortly after when she was back on serve and Razzano misfired a return.
Stosur said it was not a matter of too much pressure that caused her to miss taking advantage of the match points she had up her sleeve.
“I had two second serves, and she came up with pretty good serves,” Stosur said.
“I missed a return and the other three I think she hit a winner on.
“Even though I lost that game, I didn’t think I played badly on those match points, and I really made her earn that game.
“Yeah, obviously it would have been nice to finish it there, but I came out and played a good game to serve it out.”
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