In a match played over the course of two days, 2010 French Open finalist Samantha Stosur bested 2014 runner-up Simona Halep 7-6, 6-3 to reach her fourth quarterfinal at Roland Garros on an extremely wet and rainy day in Paris. In a match originally beginning on Sunday and commencing on Tuesday, Stosur overcame a 5-3 first set deficit on Sunday to send the Romanian packing early for a second straight year.
Halep gets out to early lead on Sunday before play is suspended
The match began late Sunday evening on Court 1 after originally being scheduled for Court Philippe Chatrier earlier. Stosur began holding serve easily, with Halep doing the same the next game. Stosur and Halep then again exchanged holds two more times for 3-3, before the Romanian gained the first break of the match to go up 4-3.
With light fading on "The Bullring" court, the sixth-seeded Halep consolidated the break for a 5-3 lead with a punishing, forehand volley, with the match being suspended immediately after due to darkness. Due to torrential rain on Monday, all matches were postponed to Tuesday due to the first washout at Roland Garros in 16 years, leaving Halep up 5-3 going into Tuesday.
Stosur fights back to take opening set in tiebreak
When play resumed on Tuesday in heavy, wet conditions, Stosur held to force Halep to serve for the opening set at 5-4. The 2010 finalist played a brilliant return game with errors creeping out of Halep's game left and right, resulting in a break from the Australian for 5-all. The 21st seed consolidated the break with a hard-fought deuce game, followed by the 2014 finalist holding to force a tiebreak.
Stosur began the tiebreak serving, holding her first service point for 1-0. Two backhand errors caused Halep mightily, with her Australian opponent going up an early 3-0 lead. The sixth seed then committed another error ,this time on her forehand, followed by a big ace from the 2011 US Open champion to go up 5-0 on the Romanian. With the 2014 finalist searching for answers in an error-plagued breaker, Stosur took advantage, drawing two more forehand errors out of her seventh ranked opponent to break again, this time for the set with a bagel, opening set tiebreak win 7-6(0).
Stosur puts Halep away in second to move to last eight
With Halep seemingly low on confidence after an opening set, tiebreak meltdown, Stosur took advantage, breaking the Romanian to start out the second set. The Aussie then held her serve, drawing errors out of the sixth seed easily for a 2-0 lead. The world number seven then got herself on the board with a hold of serve, with the 21st seed following Halep's hold up with one of her own for 3-1. The 2014 finalist closed out a routine hold with a big ace, keeping the margin to one break at 3-2. At 3-2, the heavens opened up again, leading to another rain delay with the players heading back to the locker rooms to stay dry.
Once play resumed on Court 1, the 24th ranked Stosur kept up where she left off, holding for 4-2. Halep kept the margin to a solitary break, roughing out a hold for 4-3 in incredibly wet and muddy conditions. The Aussie then held easily to put the pressure on her Romanian opponent, forcing Halep to serve to have to stay in the tournament. With her back against the wall, Halep could not overcome the nerves, succumbing to the insanely difficult conditions and to Stosur 7-6, 6-3, with Stosur moving on to a fourth quarterfinal on the Terre Battue
