Two Breakthroughs In One Day For Errani
Original link: ( http://www.wtatennis.com/news/20120605/two-breakthroughs-in-one-day-for-errani_2256076_2798383 )
PARIS, France – First Top 10 win, first Grand Slam semifinal, new Italian No.1 – the milestones came raining down on Sara Errani on Tuesday afternoon, as she beat Angelique Kerber to reach the French Open semifinals, 63 76(2).
Going into the match Errani was the underdog, not just because she had never been to the semifinals of a Slam, but she had lost her only previous meeting with Kerber handily, and was a dubious 0-28 lifetime against Top 10 players.
But with some extremely solid numbers the No.21-seeded Errani topped the No.10-seeded Kerber, compiling a +14 differential of winners-to-errors, 28 to 14 (Kerber was +8, 33 to 25). And the Italian even lifted her game on the important points, saving a pair of set points trailing 6-5 in the second set.
“The second set was a really tough set. Not just the end, but also in the beginning I was feeling a little bit tired,” Errani commented. “Even though I was behind I just tried to stay in there, because I knew the match would be long. I just wanted to keep fighting for every ball and every point out there.
“The match, the tournament, I’m very happy with how I’m playing. To win against Angelique today in a Grand Slam, in Roland Garros, it’s just great.”
“Sara was playing very well from the first point,” Kerber said. “I was trying to fight back, and in the second set I think I played better than in the first set, but she played better in the important points and was more aggressive than me.
“She moves very well on clay and makes I don’t know how many mistakes, I think just 10 today or something. I think that was the key today.”
Though she was always a threat before, Errani has taken her game to a whole new level this year, first raising eyebrows with her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the Australian Open, then winning three clay court titles at Acapulco, Barcelona and Budapest, and now the semifinals here at Roland Garros.
“A big change for me really was the racquet,” Errani said of her Babolat. “It makes me feel much better on the court, like I have more power and am not too different from the other players in terms of power and those things. But also physically I worked very hard in the winter – I was doing that every winter, though, so maybe it’s just a mix of everything that’s helping right now.”
Errani is just the second Italian to reach the semifinals of a Slam, after Francesca Schiavone, who did it twice at Roland Garros (winning the title in 2010 and reaching the final again in 2011). She will also pass Schiavone, Flavia Pennetta and Roberta Vinci to become the new Italian No.1 now.
Next up for Errani is No.6 seed Sam Stosur, who beat No.15 seed Dominika Cibulkova earlier in the day, 64 61 (read more about that match here).
Stosur has beaten Errani in all five of their previous meetings, four in straight sets and one that could have gone either way – Stosur won at New Haven in 2010, 61 36 76(4), and Errani had four match points third set.
“She’s an amazing player. I played against her in Rome last tournament and it was a tough match,” Errani said. “But I’m here because I’m playing well. I just want to think about that – I will fight and try to play my best on Thursday.”
Topics: Roland Garros, Sara Errani
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