Arguably, one of the players who gained many new fans in Australia this year, due mainly to her gutsy victory over Svetlana Kuznetsova in the fourth round, Francesca Schiavone is a quarterfinalist in this year's Australian Open. Today, she lost to world #1 Caroline Wozniacki.
I have always been a fan of Francesca since she's one of the few players in the women's side who goes to the net, and she does volley very well. I have seen both her matches against Sveta and Caroline and she really is a good player! When she's on, she can be very hard to beat and although she does not have the power of Serena, she is crafty and wily in constructing points.
What really made me a fan of hers now, is her never-say-die attitude! She was down six match points in Kuznetova's game and today, another three matchpoints from Caroline. Yet, she staved those match points and fought several more games! She's a true fighter!
Here is Francesca's path to the quarters -
QF - lost to Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) (#1) 46 63 63
4R - Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) (#26) 64 16 16 14 - the longest women's match in Grand Slam history 4 hours and 44 minutes!! I watched this till the end! It was such a thrill to watch! Both women really played a high quality game of tennis!
3R - Monica Niculescu (ROU) (#85) 60 76(2)
2R - Rebecca Marino (CAN) (#104) 63 57 97
1R - Arantxa Parra Santonja (ESP) (#68) 67(7) 62 64
This is the first time Francesca has reached the quarterfinal of the Australian Open. She has been a quarterfinalist in all the other Slams, including winning the French Open last year.
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