Australia's Stosur secures quarter-final berth

DUBAI - Samantha Stosur eased through to the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship quarter-finals with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Patty Schnyder at the Aviation Club on Thursday.

By Alex Leach

Published: Fri 18 Feb 2011, 12:19 AM

Last updated: Mon 11 Oct 2021, 8:17 AM

The Australian, 26, exchanged seven service games with the Swiss veteran, until – at 4-3 up – she broke in the eighth and served out for a 6-3 first-set scoreline.

An early break in the second then set the tournament’s fourth seed on her way to the last eight and – despite seeing Schnyder pull it back to level at 4-4 – Stosur retaliated swiftly to clinch the next two games and the match overall.

“I’m happy as it was more tricky compared to Wednesday (a 6-0, 6-1 win over Italy’s Sara Errani),” Stosur said.

“It started getting a bit tight in the second set; I had a lead and then lost it, so to be able to break back straightaway and finish it off is pleasing.

“She’s got the capability of hitting some unbelievable shots and then she’ll go through a game hitting a couple in the back fence and one in the bottom of the net.

“You’ve got to be on your game against her, keep as steady a level as possible the whole way through, wait for her to go up and down and – when you get the opportunities – go for them.

“I knew how I wanted to set up the points. If I could do that two or three times a rally, then I thought I could get a ball back to attack on. Thankfully, it worked out and I was able to set it up and get myself out of trouble a few times.

“I’m feeling good and healthy. I’m hitting the ball – and playing – well and I guess to be in the quarters feeling like this is a good thing. I’ve no complaints.”

An area for concern for Stosur will have been her first-serve percentage, which dipped as low as 36 per cent in the first set. However, Schnyder struggled to penetrate with her returns, even at the second time of asking on any single point, and that inability proved decisive in the eventual outcome.

“The match was really tough because, like most of us, I couldn’t handle her serve,” Schnyder conceded.

“I struggled to get a chance in her service games, so it was a bit frustrating. I couldn’t find the solution and, whether it be a case of backing up or taking the ball on early, nothing worked out.

“Her second serve is fast for a second serve. It has so much spin and, normally the speed in the air is the fastest, but – with her – it gets even faster after the bounce. It goes high up on you and you cannot read it.

“She can also play with the toss of her kick serve. She places it with slice down the ‘T’ on the advantage side or out wide, so it was really tough to get it back with my height and positioning.

“She gave me two forehand errors on that game so that I could break her, which was the only one I made.

“At 4-4 on my serve, I then made two double faults and that’s a pity. It’s maybe the only point of the match where I could say I messed it up myself. Otherwise, it was just her playing too good.”