Halep, Radwanska are among top women's seeds to fall at French Open
PARIS – Another French Open contender is gone, and her ouster is a veteran who could play a dark horse role in the coming days in Paris.
Simona Halep, a Romanian ranked as high as No. 2 in the world and finalist in 2014, fell on Tuesday to Sam Stosur, the 2010 runner-up here and 2011 U.S. Open champion.
Stosur, who trailed 3-5 in the first set when play was called off Sunday, came back nearly two days later to take eight of the first 11 games played.
Scoreline: [21] Sam Stosur (AUS) def. [6] Simona Halep (ROM) 7-6(0), 6-3
Many had counted Halep, a crafty baseliner, as one of the main challengers to Serena Williams here, the No. 6 seed having won in Madrid just three weeks ago. But Stosur came out firing on Tuesday, winning 18 of 26 points after the nearly two-day layoff and sprinting to a lead in the second set, as well.
What it means: It means that Halep is out of a major earlier than expected once again, having lost in the second round here last year, as well as the first round at Wimbledon and the first round at the Australian Open in the last 12 months.
While Halep fails to reach the quarterfinals here, it’s the first time Stosur has made it as far at a major since 2012, when she was a quarterfinalist at the U.S. Open as defending champion. Halep is a Williams rival removed, but Stosur is one added, having won against Serena in the 2011 U.S. Open final and the quarterfinals here in 2010, the year she was a finalist. Stosur is 3-8 overall against the world No. 1.
The Australian veteran is on the bottom half of the draw, meaning she’ll play world No. 102 Tsvetana Pironkova in the quarterfinals, who shocked No. 2 seed Agnieszka Radwanska on Tuesday. Garbiñe Muguruza, the No. 4 seed, plays American upstart Shelby Rogers in the bottom half’s other quarterfinal. Both Serena and Venus Williams are in the top half of the draw and already into the quarters, still scheduled for Tuesday.
How it happened: Halep held a 5-3 lead when play was called for darkness on Sunday evening, but she was clearly the inferior player when the two returned on Tuesday, Stosur flexing her ever-powerful game as she won four of five games, including a runaway tiebreak, 7-0, for the first set.
The players went off early in the second, but they returned to see Stosur grab a commanding 4-2 lead. The Australian, 32, had opportunities to go up 5-2 and did not, however, and it looked as though Halep may mount a comeback. In the end she did not, missing a forehand volley on match point down, Stosur celebrating in muted fashion.
Key stat: Stosur, one of the most powerful players on tour, hit 24 winners to Halep’s 15, and kept her unforced errors low: 16. Her biggest weapon was her controlled aggression in this match, continuously pushing the smaller Halep back against the wall.
Stosur recharged: Stosur, a former world No. 4, has been rebooted this year having fallen as low as No. 28 in the world last year. She is in her final tournament with longtime coach Dave Taylor, who is stepping away to spend more time with his family. She is a 24-time doubles champion on tour, including the 2006 Roland Garros title alongside American Lisa Raymond. She is now 24-11 on the 2016 season in singles, including 17-7 on clay.
Pironkova too: Pironkova is more of a surprise than Stosur in the quarterfinals, the Bulgarian known for her hard, flat hitting and affinity for grass. In 10 previous trips she had never been past the third round, but had made the Wimbledon quarterfinals (2011) and semifinals (2010). She reached a career-high No. 31 in the world in 2010.
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