Samantha Stosur joined Dinara Safina and Dominika Cibulkova in the semifinals of the 2009 French Open on Wednesday.
Former US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova completed the final four lineup later in the afternoon after upsetting ten-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams.
It was an impressive 6-1, 6-3 performance by Stosur against Cirstea, the woman who had ousted Jelena Jankovic in the fourth round. Stosur played aggressively and showcased her championship doubles skills by winning 78% percent of her points at the net.
Although Stosur has won two major titles in doubles, this is the farthest she has ever progressed in the singles draw at a Grand Slam. Her previous best result was a fourth round finish at her home major in Melbourne during 2004.
Headed into her match with Serena Williams, Kuznetsova was overshadowed by the knowledge that she had lost five of their six meetings, including a controversial quarterfinal at the Australian Open in January. In Melbourne, Kuznetsova led Serena 7-5, but once the tournament made the decision to close the roof mid-match, she lost her edge to a rejuvenated Williams.
Today against Williams, Svetlana appeared to finally put her mental demons to rest. She had an opportunity to close the match out in the second set, but squandered her early lead. After losing the second set and holding match points at 5-4, Kuznetsova eventually closed out the match with her sixth service break at 7-5. The match lasted just shy of three hours with a final score of 7-6(3), 5-7, 7-5.
The semifinal matches between Safina/Cibulkova and Kuznetsova/Stosur will take place on Thursday.
