Stosur Stops Robson at US Open

FLUSHING MEADOWS, NY – It took nine match points, but defending US open champion Samantha Stosur put away feisty British teen Laura Robson 6-4, 6-4 for a berth in the round of 16.

“I thought it was a good match, Stosur said. “I thought I played, you know, pretty well.  Towards the end there, probably stepped it up another gear when I had those match points and couldn’t quite get them.  So I think it was a really good match, and definitely one that I maybe needed going to the quarters.

Robson had a career major, reaching the third round by taking out two major champions – retiring Kim Clijsters and No. 9 seed Li Na.

“Sam is someone who sort of makes you feel like you’re playing bad because she hits it with so much spin,” Robson said. “But it’s been a good tournament for me.”

However 41 unforced errors did the British teen in.

“Definitely disappointed, “Robson said.  “I felt like I didn’t play as well as I did in my last three matches.  You know, I just hit too many unforced errors.  Sam is someone who sort of makes you feel like you’re playing bad because she hits it with so much spin, so it’s hard to get her serve back sometimes.  But it’s been a good tournament for me.”

“I can definitely take the fact that, you know, I’m up there with the top girls in terms of level,” Robson said. “I had two really, really great wins and a tough one today.  Going into my next tournaments, I can take a lot of confidence into them and, you know, try to play as well as I did here.”

The British woman has had an incredible past few weeks – winning the Olympic silver medal in Mixed doubles, paired with Andy Murray and her upsets at the US Open. Ranked at 111 before Wimbledon, she is projected to move into the mid 70’s.

Going unnoticed is the fact that Stosur, the seventh seed has not dropped a set in the tournament.

“I think I’ve been serving very well out of all of these matches,” Stosur said. “Out of these four matches, I’ve only had one or two bad serving games.  That’s going to be pleasing going into the next match.  But I really did want to try and mix up my serve today and not let her get grooved.  She’s a very good ball striker.  You give a player like her the same shot over and over, eventually you’re going to get burnt.  I tried to hit my first serves, be aggressive with that, and just be aware of where I was hitting my seconds.  I guess that’s pleasing to hear I did everything right.”

Stosur plays top seed Victoria Azarenka next for a place in the quarterfinals.