After defeating Justine Henin in the previous round, Samantha Stosur has knocked out Serena Williams 6-2, 6-7(2), 8-6 in the French Open quarterfinals. Stosur dominated the early part of the match, winning 17 points in a row to end the first set and begin the second.
"I didn't want to let her try and dictate the points early on, so I tried to do that straight back to her," said Stosur. "That first set [I] really was on top of things, and even through the second, and I knew that that was the way that I had to win."
But Williams, who was two points away from losing in straight sets when Stosur served for the match at 5-4 in the second set, stormed back to take the tiebreak.
"After losing that game, things kind of stepped up a notch from her. Yeah, I didn't know if I was gonna get another chance," said Stosur.
The Australian did not fade, however, breaking Williams immediately at the beginning of the third set before Williams broke right back. The two then stayed even till 5-5, when Stosur played two brilliant points to break and found some strong serves to close out the match.
"That third set, just kind of hung in there, and I was behind the whole time serving second," said Stosur. "Just tried to hang in and wait for another opportunity. Then I got one at 6-6, and thankfully I took it."