The French Open continues to provide some bookmaker surprises with the latest being the loss of top-seeded Serena Williams. She was beaten in the quarterfinals by Samatha Stosur. Williams was one of the favorites at the Internet bookmaker to win the French Open along with Justine Henin who Stosur beat in the previous round.
Stosur definitely will get some respect now at the Internet bookmaker after beating the top two favorites. The match against Williams was a very competitive one that Williams nearly won in the third set. Williams had a match point in the 10th game but she couldn’t convert and ended up losing the third set 8-6. The match started off with Stosur dominating Serena. Stosur won the first set easily 6-2 and she was serving for the match in the second set up 5-3. The pressure seemed to get to her as she double faulted and proceeded to lose the set. Williams had the third set in her favor but didn’t put Stosur away. Stosur recovered and played her best tennis and won the third set.
It was yet another failure for Williams in the French Open. She won the tournament in 2002 but other than that win she has always found a way to lose. The loss against Stosur was no fluke though. Stosur beat Henin in the fourth round and she has the best record of any woman on clay this year at 19-2. Stosur doesn’t get a break from her tough matches as she will face Jelena Jankovic in the semifinals. Jankovic has been in the semifinals of the French Open in three of the last four years. The other semifinal has Elena Dementieva facing Francesca Schiavone.
The French Open has been full of upsets. Roger Federer was upset before reaching the semifinals by Robin Soderling. About the only thing that can be counted on vs. odds at the Internet bookmaker is that Rafael Nadal will win. He continues to dominate on the men’s side as he looks to win the French Open yet again. He could get a rematch with Soderling in the finals if both are able to navigate their way through the semifinals. Last year it was Soderling who upset Nadal in the fourth round and this year Soderling did the same thing to Federer.