Samantha Stosur Sweeps Francesca Schiavone In WTA Championships

(Oct. 26, 2010) Staring down a 0-4 deficit minutes into her opening WTA Championships round-robin match, Samantha Stosur couldn't quite get a grip on her game.

Then Stosur found the range on her sledgehammer serve and forcing forehand to take charge.

In a French Open final rematch, Stosur reeled off six straight games to register a 6-4, 6-4 win over Roland Garros champion Francesca Schiavone in today's Maroon Group round-robin match in Doha.

"It all happened pretty quick out there; she came out playing pretty well and I didn't make too many balls," Stosur said of her early deficit. "I just tried to hang in there. It was a good comeback in the end. Obviously, it's very humid. You're sweating a hell of a lot and try to drink as much as you can and catch your breath between points."

Stosur stormed through the spring clay-court season in posting a 20-3 clay-court record that culminated with her first trip to a Grand Slam final.

Stosur forms the foundation of her game on a kick serve that can bounce so high you might think the ball was injected with helium and a fearsome forehand she used to dispatch four-time French Open champion Justine Henin, World No. 1 Serena Williams and three-time French Open semifinalist Jelena Jankovic to reach the French Open final before bowing to the 17th-seeded Schiavone, 6-4, 7-6(2).

Schiavone came out strong in the rematch, but the 5-foot-5 1/2 Italian struggled to take the initiative against Stosur's heavy topspin that bounded shoulder high and sometimes forced Schiavone to step back.

Caroline Wozniacki took a significant step toward solidifying her status as year-end No. 1 in stomping Elena Dementieva, 6-1, 6-1, in a Maroon Group match of the season-ending WTA Tour Championships in Doha.

World No. 2 Vera Zvonareva, the only woman with a shot at surpassing Wozniacki for the top spot, crushed a listless Jankovic, 6-3, 6-0, in the White Group match that opened the first day of play.

The top-seeded Wozniacki permitted just eight points on serve, including winning eight of 10 points played on her second serve in cruising through a 53-minute victory. 

Dementieva withdrew from Luxembourg last week due to an ankle injury and her movement was compromised today. 

"I had some ankle problems last week and took some days off and doing some physio, so it feels better," Dementieva said before the match. "I was able to practice a couple days, feeling fine. So for sure I'm going to use tape support for the match, and hopefully it's going to be okay."

If Wozniacki wins one more round-robin match she will secure the year-end top spot.

The 20-year-old Dane will face Stosur in tomorrow's final round-robin match. Stosur and Wozniacki have split four career meetings.

Wozniacki has won 26 of her last 27 matches, collecting tournament titles in four of her last five tournaments: Montreal, New Haven, Tokyo and Beijing.

Opening day of play at the $4.55 million tournament got off to a sluggish start before a sparse crowd as Zvonareva seized a 4-2 lead against Jankovic, who complained of a sinus infection after her second straight second-round exit at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow last week. 

Former World No. 1 Jankovic staved off several break points to hold for 3-4, but that would prove to be the sickened Serbian's last stand.

Zvonareva reeled off eight consecutive games to close out her fourth consecutive win over Jankovic and take a 7-6 lead in their head-to-head series.

Zvonareva has won five of seven meetings with Victoria Azarenka, her White Group round-robin opponent tomorrow. Azarenka captured her second tournament title of the year at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow on Sunday.

The WTA Championships wrap up their run in Doha this week before starting a three-year run in Istanbul next October.

Wednesday's Order Of Play:
1. Vera Zvonareva vs. Victoria Azarenka
2. Kim Clijsters vs. Jelena Jankovic
3. Caroline Wozniacki vs. Samantha Stosur