After two hours and 44 minutes Francesca Schiavone has given Italy a 2-1 lead against Australian after defeating Sam Stosur 7-6, 3-6, 7-5 in Hobart. Schiavone tried to use the same tactics that had helped her beat a nervous Sam at Roland Garros, but her charges to the net were not always successful.
An error filled first set was decided by a tiebreak in which Francesca ran away to a 4-0 lead after Sam committed error after error. The difficult windy conditions didn’t help much but ultimately Francesca dealt with a timid Stosur.
Despite a rain delay as Sam stepped up to serve for the second set at 5-3, she managed to shake off the delay and take the second set 6-3. With players level at 1-1 in the third set Sam had an chance when Schiavone gave Sam five break point chances, non of which she was able to convert. She was denied the break by a combination of her own errors and the always fantastic retrieval skills of Schiavone.
After Sam has failed to claim a victory in this meeting all the pressure is now transferred to the shoulders of Jarmilla Groth to defeat Flavia Pennetta.
