NEW YORK, NY, USA - Two of the most athletic players on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour squared off in the fourth round of the US Open Sunday night, and it was Samantha Stosur who outlasted Elena Dementieva, 63 26 76(2).
Although she was seeded higher - No.5 to No.12 - Stosur had been 1-4 against Dementieva in their head-to-head, and an even more daunting 0-4 on hardcourts. And after winning the first set the walls seemed to come down on her again, as Dementieva cruised in the second set and built a 3-0 lead in the third.
With some brave aggressive plays, the Sam Storm stormed back.
Trailing 5-3 in the third, Stosur saved one match point; trailing 5-4, she saved another three. After squandering her own up 6-5, the pair went to a tie-break, where Stosur's constant aggression pushed her towards the finish line, building quadruple match point and quickly closing it out on one last Dementieva error.
"I feel unbelievable. We both played a great match, we both went for it and gave it our best," Stosur said. "In the last year and a half I've found my confidence and belief. To get my best result here is great. I hope to go a few more."
"I was trying to fight until the end. I feel disappointed the way I was playing the match points - I wasn't aggressive enough," Dementieva said. "But it was really difficult to push myself forward all the time because I was feeling a bit sleepy."
Check out pics of Sam, Elena and more in the Day 7 gallery!
At 1:37am, it was the latest finish for a ladies' match in Open history, and fifth-latest for men or women. Stosur and Dementieva followed the men's match between Mikhail Youzhny and John Isner. "It's good to make history I guess," Stosur said. "It's always tough to follow the men, but it was a great atmosphere out here. When everyone stays and cheers, it couldn't be better."
And about her large cheering section of Australians up in the stands? "I know them pretty well. One of them's my brother."
Next up for Stosur is No.2 seed Kim Clijsters. Clijsters leads Stosur in their head-to-head, 3-0, all of those wins coming in straight sets.
"She has won 18 matches in a row here," Stosur said. "It's not going to be easy but I'll give it my best and hopefully everyone will come out and support us."
"Sam is a different player than a few years ago," Clijsters said after her win over Ana Ivanovic in the first match of the day on Ashe Stadium. "She's probably one of the hardest hitters, but in a different way. With the heavy spin balls and the great serve, it's trickier than what we're used to seeing these days."
Clijsters, Venus Williams and Francesca Schiavone won their round of 16 matches earlier in the day. Read more about those matches here.
