Sports Thursday Thread #1 For 6/3/10: Sam & Shi Set Up The Final That Was Unlikely

Photo from IBM.com
It will be a battle of two veterans with "S" as their first letter in their last names battling for their first ever Grand Slam champion. And you could place the word "Super" in front of their last names after their wins today.

Samantha Stosur has thoroughly dispatched Jelena Jankovic in the second semifinal. The Australian was dominate all throughout despite Jankovic trying to be aggressive in the opening two games of the 2nd set, taking the match in style 6-1, 6-2.

That came after Francesca Schiavone became the 1st Italian women to advance to a Grand Slam final, defeating Elena Dementieva 7-6 in the first semifinal, as the Russian's pain was too much for her to continue with her calf injury.

What makes the Stosur-Schiavone final all the more remarkable is that they played each other last year in this event.......in the 1st round. Unbelievable.

What made Stosur's persistence so enthralling to watch the resistance that Jankovic gave her by winning the first two games in set number two, setting a possible dynamic of Jankovic being somehow able to match Stosur offensively after getting dominated in set #1.

But the Australian stayed the course and did not let Jankovic consolidate that break. In fact, Stosur didn't let Jankovic get anything else, breaking back the next game after being down 40-15 and dominated the second set like she did in its predecessor.

Besides her being locked in on her massive serve and forehand, a key element for Stosur's terrific victory was the fact that she also beat Jankovic at the Serbian's best shot, the backhand down the line. Stosur was the one taking the quick advantage of an opening down the line, hitting her "weaker wing" with as much precision and pace as her vaunted forehand.

There was nothing weak in Samantha Stosur's game today ladies and gentlemen. And there is nothing weak about her belief of winning a first Grand Slam title.

Photo from Getty Images

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