Sam Stosur deposed claycourt queen Justin Henin in stunning fashion at the French Open on Monday, overpowering the darling of Roland Garros 2-6 6-1 6-4.
The Australian produced the biggest win of her career and snapped Henin’s phenomenal winning streak in Paris at 24 in their fourth round encounter.
The tiny Belgian had not been defeated at Roland Garros since 2004 but could not handle the poise and power of the Australian who will meet Serena Williams in the next round.
The cold, blustery conditions meant that Court Suzanne Lenglen was far from full for the contest.
And the Gold Coaster took some time to warm up, dropping her serve in the opening game before steadily getting her teeth into the contest.
The problem for Stosur was the cool conditions really slowed the court and made it very difficult for her to drive the ball out of the speedy Henin’s reach.
After dropping a rare set in Paris against Maria Sharapova, the tiny Belgian returned to her ruthless best in climbing on top of any opportunities.
Henin managed to nullify Stosur’s serve to break the Australian twice in winning the opening set 6-2 in a touch over half an hour.
The Queenslander regrouped in the second set, using her power to immediately snap Henin’s serve and unsettle the seven-time major winner.
In a symbol of the changing fortunes, the Belgian lost her footing trying to return a Stosur serve and landed firmly on her behind.
Henin stood up and flung her racquet on the red dirt in frustration after Stosur pushed an easy winner past her.
That moment of weakness seemed to spur on the Australian, she cruised through the set, holding her nerve in saving two break points in serving out the set.
The Australian forced a break of serve in the fifth game for a 3-2 lead but quickly surrendered it in the very next game with two double faults in a row as the crowd started to get behind Henin.
At 3-4 and 0-30 on serve it looked like Henin was coming in for the kill but Stosur showed some some mental toughness by recovering to even up the scores.
She broke Henin’s serve again and at 5-4 had the chance to serve for the match.
Henin gifted her the opening point by putting an easy shot into the net and the crowd tried to lift the fan favourite back in the contest.
But this was to be Stosur’s special day.
Henin said Stosur had deserved the victory.
“I just wanted the adventure to keep going,” she said referring to her first French Open in three years following a two-year hiatus.
“I haven’t been at my best today.
“Samantha was the best player on the court. She took her chances, her opportunities.”
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