Stosur sharing the spotlight with Molik - Sports News - Fanatics - the world's biggest events

Stosur sharing the spotlight with Molik

By Darren Walton 14/01/2005 09:07:34 PM Comments (0)

Alicia Molik and Samantha Stosur will meet in the first-all Australian WTA final in 13 years after continuing to cut a swathe through the Medibank International in Sydney.

While Stosur's charmed run extended to a second walkover win in as many days, Molik could barely have been more impressive than in her 6-4 6-3 victory over Chinese surprise packet Peng Shaui.

The sixth-seeded Molik set Olympic Park's centre court alight with a dazzling serving display which climaxed with a rare four-ace game to close out the first set in the grandest of styles.

It was Molik's seventh consecutive straight-sets win of 2005, and 30th success from her past 34 matches.

It not only propelled the Olympic bronze medallist to within touching distance of a fourth title in five months, but also confirmed her billing as a genuine Australian Open contender.

The world No.12 banged down nine aces in all and unleashed the fastest serve of the tournament, a 188kph bullet, to finally end the 19-year-old Chinese qualifier's unexpected challenge at the grand slam warm-up event.

Earlier, Stosur admitted her entry to the final bordered on farce when dual grand slam finalist Elena Dementieva forfeited their semi-final with a "heat illness".

Fresh from her breakthrough appearance in the final last week on the Gold Coast, Stosur had progressed to the last four in Sydney after world No.1 Lindsay Davenport withdrew from their quarter-final with bronchitis.

"It's not the way I wanted to be in another final," Stosur said.

"Certainly having one walkover is a bit strange, but having two is ridiculous.

Brought to you by AAP AAP © 2024 AAP

0 Comments about this article

Post a comment about this article

Please sign in to leave a comment.
Becoming a member is free and easy, sign up here.

« All sports news