Paris: Samantha Stosur stormed into the French Open final here yesterday, beating Jelena Jankovic 6-1, 6-2, and she will become the first Australian woman in 30 years to capture a Grand Slam title if she wins again on Saturday.
Her opponent in that final will be Italy's Francesca Schiavone, who won a first set tie break 7-3 against Russian fifth seed Elena Dementieva who then quit because of a calf muscle injury. The pair have played five times with Stosur winning the last four in straight sets.
Meanwhile, Elena Dementieva could miss Wimbledon later this month after retiring from her semi-final with a calf injury.
The fifth-seeded Russian quit after losing the first set 7-6 against Italian Francesca Schiavone.
Doubtful starter
“I am not sure if I will be able to play at Wimbledon,” Dementieva told reporters. “It’s very painful to even walk,” she said. “I got it after my second match and I aggravated it. Today it was just a sharp pain. It was a bit too much. I couldn’t really move on the court.”
The Russian, beaten in the final in Paris in 2004, said it would not have made any difference had she won the first set.
“I was just going on the court trying to play, trying to fight, because it is a very special moment,” she said. “So even with this pain I was trying to play but I don’t think I could go longer than that.”
In the Stosur-Jankovic match, the Australian’s crushing one hour-long win over fourth seed Jankovic put her into her first Grand Slam title at the age of 26, almost four years younger than Evonne Cawley was when she won the last of her seven Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon in 1980.
For former world No 1 Jankovic the loss is another heavy blow to her hopes of finally winning a Grand Slam title at what was her 27th attempt.
“I’ve been playing well and if I can keep this form going I think I have got a good shot,” said Stosur, who defeated four-time former winner Justine Henin and top seed Serena Williams in the two previous rounds.
