| Bartoli ousted, Stosur wins |
STANFORD (California) Victoria Azarenka overcame a slow start to upset defending champion Marion Bartoli 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the Stanford Classic on Friday.
The Belarussian was joined in the last four by top seed Samantha Stosur, who battled to a 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 win over Yanina Wickmayer, Russian fifth seed Maria Sharapova and Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska.
Sharapova ended second seeded compatriot Elena Dementieva’s comeback tournament with a marathon 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 victory in a late match that lasted two hours and 47 minutes.
She advances to face third seed Radwanska, who eased past Sharapova’s friend Maria Kirilenko 7-5, 6-0.
While the fourth seeded Bartoli is ranked higher than the eighth-seeded Azarenka, the 20-year-old Belarussian had beaten the Frenchwoman in their three previous meetings so the outcome was not a surprise.
Bartoli got off to a terrific start, powering her groundstrokes to the corners to forge a 6-3, 3-1 lead and appeared well set for a routine victory.
However, after Azarenka fought hard to hold serve in the next game, the tide turned completely and she reeled off seven straight games with a forceful attack. Bartoli tried to regain control late in the third set but Azarenka mixed deft drop shots with laser-precision backhands and broke her opponent to win the match on a forehand error.
Later, Bartoli told reporters that Azarenka’s loud grunts had distracted her. “It’s difficult to play against those kinds of players,” Bartoli said. “It’s fine to grunt sometimes when you make an effort, but sometimes it’s just so loud.
“It’s hard to focus on the other side of the net. But it’s not something I can get bothered by, because otherwise I would lose my concentration so much.
“I just need to forget about it, but it’s hard.”
Reuters
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