As the rain continues to fall at Roland Garros, a duo of shock wins has sent second seed Agnieszka Radwanska and sixth seed Simona Halep out of the French Open.
Radwanska was on course for a straight sets win over Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova when she was dominating the match 6-3, 3-0, before rain halted her match on Sunday. Resuming proceedings on the Suzanne Lenglen court, the dynamic of the match dramatically changed as the Bulgarian won ten straight games to race to a 4-0 lead in the deciding set. The unexpected surge caught Radwanska off guard as the Polish No.1 failed to win a single game until the fifth game of the final set. Despite getting herself on the scoreboard, the damage was already done as Pironkova completed her surprise win 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.
“It feels unbelievable, I have no words, I am so happy right now.” The world No.102 said after her match.
In light of the wet conditions, the match saw a series of costly errors from both players (40 from Pironkova and 30 from Radwanska). Regardless of the roller coaster performance, Pironkova refrained from complaining.
“It was very difficult with all the rain, we waited almost three days to end the match.” She said.
“I can’t complain, it turned out great for me and now I’m moving forward to the French Open quarter-finals, I’m so happy.”
Pironkova will now play in the last eight of a major tournament for the first time since the 2011 Wimbledon Championships. Radwanska is the third seeded player that the Bulgarian has defeated after Sara Errani and Sloane Stephens.
Following her shock loss to Pironkova, Radwanska attributed the wet conditions to the decline in her performance as she struggled with her hand on Tuesday. She has also criticised the tournament for allowing the continuation of play in the rain.
“It was my hand. I had surgery few years ago and I couldn’t really play in that conditions. End of story.” The disappointed second seed said during her press conference.
“I’m just so surprised and angry, that we have to play in the rain. I mean, it’s not a 10,000 tournament. It’s a Grand Slam. How can you allow players to play in the rain? I cannot play in that conditions.”
It is now the third consecutive year where Radwanska has failed to reach the quarter-final stage in Paris.
Spectacular Sam Stosur Stuns Simona Halep
Former French Open finalist Sam Stosur has knocked out sixth seed Simona Halep 7-6(0), 6-3, in the fourth round of the French Open.
The 32-year-old Australian, who will now play in her first grand slam quarter-final since the 2012 US Open, bullied Halep around the court as she produced an impressive 29 winners.
The encounter between the two saw chances come and go for both players with only 4/19 break points being converted throughout the match. Dropping her serve midway through the first set, Stosur battle back to level 5-5 before producing a commanding performance in the tie-break, winning seven straight points. The closeness between Stosur and Halep widen during the second set as the Australian broke twice to seal a place in her seventh grand slam quarter-final.
The triumph comes after what has been a difficult start to the season for Stosur, who failed to win back-to-back matches in nine consecutive tournaments before the Madrid Open. Her latest Roland Garros victory is Stosur’s 31st win over a top-10 player and her first since Caroline Wozniacki at the 2014 Beijing Open.
Stosur will play Pironkova for a chance to reach the semifinals at Roland Garros. The world No.24 has played the Bulgarian on five previous occasions, leading the head-to-head 4-1. On the other hand, their last meeting at the 2015 Eastbourne Open saw Pironkova win the match in straight sets.
