Cirstea takes Stosur out in 1st round at Australian Open

Unseeded No. 59 ranked Sorana Cirstea of Romania pulled off a big shocker over No. 6 seed Samantha Stosur of Australia with a straight sets win, 7-6 (7-2), 6-3 in the first round of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park.

It took only 91 minutes for the Romanian to pull off the huge upset at Stosur’s home Grand Slam. It was the earliest exit for Stosur at the Australian Open since 2005, and continues her miserable showing at Melbourne. In 10 visits, the 27-year-old Stosur has managed just 14 wins and she’s only twice progressed beyond the third round.

Stosur dominates to claim U.S. Open title over Serena Williams

Samantha Stosur of Australia, completely dominated Serena Williams of the USA to claim the 2011 U.S. Open championship in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3.

Playing in only her 2nd Grand Slam final, Samantha pulled off what many would consider a big upset over 3-time U.S. Open champion, 13-time Grand Slam champion, Serena. It is the first career Grand Slam title for Samantha.

Dulko eliminates Stosur in round three

Argentina’s Gisela Dulko eliminated Australia’s
Samantha Stosur in the 3rd round of the 2011 French Open in 3-sets, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.

The 26-year-old Dulko, ranked No. 51, broke Stosur’s serve in the first and third games of the match, slashing inside-out backhands for winners and a forehand so deep it forced the Australian to hit a backhand long.

Stosur, seeded No. 8 and a finalist in last year’s French, trailed 0-4 before she recovered her composure and confidence. It was too late to retrieve the first set, but the agile Australian ran out the second set, 6-1, in just 31 minutes.

Sharapova downs Stosur for title

No. 7 Maria Sharapova of Russia defeated No. 8 Samatha Stosur of Australia 6-2, 6-4 to win the championship at the Internazionali BNL d’ Italia Alice Cup in Rome on Sunday.

Sharapova was dominant from the start, winning 14 of the first 15 points in the match to take a 4-0 lead, finishing off that first set 6-2. Sharapova broke Stosur’s serve five times in all, winning the second set 6-4 to win the title.

Stosur upset by Kvitova at Australian Open

In a major disappointment for home-town folks down under, No. 5 seed, #6 Samantha Stosur of Australia had her hopes dashed for a 1st Grand Slam title by No. 25 seed, # 28 Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic 7-6(7-5) 6-3 at the 2011 Australian Open in Melbourne.

The 3rd round match began with a tense 63-minute 1st-set battle in which Stosur succumbed 5-7 in a tie-break. Stosur never seemed to recover, being bludgeoned by 35 clean winners from Kvitova, compared to Stosur’s 11 winners. The match was over after a 32 minute 2nd set 6-3 pounding by Kvitova, one hour and 35 minutes total match time.

Serena Williams pulls out of Pan Pacific Open. Surprised?

Tournament organizers say top-ranked Serena Williams has pulled out of the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo scheduled for Sept. 26-Oct. 2.

Most of us are probably not surprised this time, since this is the fifth tournament Serena has missed since cutting her foot on some glass in an accident at a restaurant back in July. It doesn’t seem to really be news anymore when she pulls out of a tournament. Many don’t expect her to play. It will be news if she ever returns to action.

Kim Clijsters vs. Venus Williams in semifinal

No. 2 seed and defending champion Kim Clijsters will face No. 3 seed Venus Williams in one semifinal at the 2010 U.S. Open.

Both Clijsters and Williams have two U.S. Open titles to their name. Clijsters has won the last two times she played here, in 2005 and then again after coming out of retirement last year in 2009. Williams won in 2000 and 2001, but has struggled in the past years here.

However, Clijsters was really out of form for much of her 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 win over fifth seed Samantha Stosur in the last round on Arthur Ashe court, but found just enough composure to emerge victorious for the 19th time in a row at Flushing Meadows.

Stosur and Dementieva advance to meet in 4th round

No. 5 seed, Samantha Stosur and No. 12 seed, Elena Dementieva both advanced with straight-sets wins and will meet in the 4th round of the 2010 U.S. Open.

Stosur of Australia breezed through quite easily over No. 37 ranked Sara Errani of Italy 6-2, 6-3. Stosur came close to losing her 1st round match against Elena Vesnina, 3-6, 7-6(2), 6-1, but won easily in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. Afterwards, Stosur said: “Really happy with that win. Since my first round I think I’ve played two really good matches now. Couldn’t ask for much more… to come through and have two matches the way I have, I’m really pleased.”

Wozniacki seeded No. 1 at Open; Clijsters No. 2

Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark is seeded No. 1 at the U.S. Open, followed by No. 2 Kim Clijsters of Belgium.

It is the first time Wozniacki was seeded No. 1 at a Grand Slam tournament, a spot which she filled in after world No. 1 Serena Williams of the U.S.A. pulled out of the tournament, saying she still is recovering from surgery to repair cuts on her right foot.

Wozniacki, ranked No. 2 behind Williams by the WTA, was the runner-up at Flushing Meadows last year and is the first woman since 2003 to be seeded No. 1 at the U.S. Open without already having won a major championship.

Stosur upset by Kanepi at Wimbledon

French Open runner up, Samantha Stosur of Australia, is already packing to go home after a 1st-round loss at Wimbledon on Tuesday. The lady who sent her packing is 80th-ranked qualifier, Kaia Kanepi of Estonia, who took care of the upset in stunning fashion in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4.

This was the fourth first-round exit in eight appearances at the All England Club for the sixth-seeded Samantha. She came to Wimbledon with a tour-leading 35 match wins in 2010 and with her career-best ranking. She reached her first Grand Slam final at the French Open this month, beating current No. 1 Serena Williams and former World No. 1 Justine Henin and another former World No. 1 Jelena Jankovic along the way.