Francesca Schiavona (picture) and Samantha Stosur, both ranked Maegashira (=non-champions) before the tournament, overcame higher-ranked opponents today to qualify for their first Grand Slam final. M5W Schiavone benefited from a calf injury of former and future Ozeki (=Champion) Elena Dementieva, who withdrew after a hotly contested first set. M1W Stosur, who has beaten two Yokozuna (=Grand Champions) on her way to the semifinal (see the story below), made short work of M1E and ex-Sekiwake (=Junior Champion I) Jelena Jankovic, thus topping her achievement from last year when Stosur went home after the semifinals.
The muscular Stosur leads the petite Schiavone 4-1 in overall career matches and 2-0 on clay. One of these encounters took place during the first round of last year's French Open, when Stosur previaled by a score of 6-4, 6-2. But irrespective how the final ends, Schiavone and Stosur will both be promoted to Sekiwake after the tournament. A remarkable achievement especially for Schiavone, who at almost 30 years of age enjoys an unusual late career surge.
Should Stosur win on Saturday she will be the first Australian French Open champion since 1973, when Dai-Yokozuna Margaret Court took home her last Roland Garros title, beating a young Chris Evert (at the time a Komusubi) in the final. No Italian lady has ever won the tournament (or advanced to the final), but a champion Schiavone would step into the footsteps Adriano Panatta, who won the mens' competition in 1976, eliminating a certain Bjorn Borg (then an Ozeki) in the quarterfinals. Panatta's French Open triumph also marked his ascent to a career-high Sekiwake rank--in this regard, Schiavone has already caught up.
| Men | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Robin Soderling (K, former S) | vs. | Tomas Berdych (M4) | |
| Jurgen Melzer (M7) | vs. | Rafael Nadal (Y) | |
| Women | |||
| Samantha Stosur (M1, former K) | vs. | Jelena Jankovic (M1, former S) | 6-1, 6-2 |
| Francesca Schiavone (M5) | vs. | Elena Dementieva (S, former O) | 7-6 ret. |
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