Stosur stung by French Open loss
Australia's Samantha Stosur said Thursday that it "hurts a lot" to be upset by another Italian underdog at the French Open but a fresh chance at redemption in Wimbledon will help her get over it. Sara Errani, 25, crushed sixth-seed and US Open champion Stosur's hopes of another shot at the Roland Garros title with a 7-5, 1-6, 6-3 semi-final win, earning the right to face Russian second seed Maria Sharapova for the title. Stosur, 28, had beaten Errani five times in a row before their rain-delayed encounter on the Philippe Chatrier court, and was hoping to be the first Australian woman to win at Roland Garros in 39 years.. Two years ago, another pint-sized Italian, Francesca Schiavone, defeated the muscular, power-serving Stosur in straight sets to win her first Slam in Paris. "I'd have to say I was much more disappointed losing the final," Stosur said before adding: "Obviously today hurts a lot as well." "There are things that you can take away from both matches that are maybe similar," she said, regretting that she could have done more against 21st-seed Errani, who will move into the top 10 as a result of her victory. "I don't know if I'm going to watch the final, to be honest. I couldn't really care less what happens at this point," Stosur said. The Queenslander, who was better known for her doubles play before breaking out in singles in 2009, said she was looking forward to Wimbledon, which starts in two weeks' time. "That's always been a very tough tournament for me, but I guess in some ways that's the beauty of tennis," she said. "You can have, you know, a really crap day and then there's another tournament the next week and you get a chance to kinda redeem yourself very quickly." When Stosur beat Serena Williams to win last year's US Open, she became the first Australian woman to win a Grand Slam singles title since Evonne Goolagong Cawley at Wimbledon in 1980. The last Australian woman to win at Roland Garros was Margaret Court in 1973. Stosur boasts two Grand Slam women's doubles titles, at the 2005 US Open and and 2006 French Open, and two mixed doubles titles, at the Australian Open in 2005 and Wimbledon in 2008. She won her first singles title in 2009 in Osaka.
