Stocer stuns Sharapova in Tokyo

Samantha Stosur has scored a rare win over Maria Sharapova, a spot in the Pan Pacific semi-finals and improved her chances of featuring in the WTA's end of season event after a big afternoon in Tokyo on Thursday.

Holding a 10-1 career record against the Australian, Sharapova was a heavy favourite in their quarter-final but Stosur emerged a 6-4 7-6 (12-10) winner over the two-time champion.

Stosur broke Sharapova to go up 5-3 in the second set but then lost nine straight points as Sharapova sent the match to a tiebreaker, which Stosur won when Sharapova's return was long.

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The win boosts the world No.9's chances of an appearance at the WTA Championships in Turkey which is limited to the top eight ranked players in the world.

Read more: Yahoo Sports

Sharapova in Tokyo quarter-finals: Plays against Stocer

Two-time champion Maria Sharapova finally found some rhythm to dispose of stubborn Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic and reach the quarter-finals of the Pan Pacific Open on Wednesday.

The French Open holder from Russia, who needed more than three hours to beat qualifier Heather Watson of Britain on Tuesday, showed few signs of fatigue in coming through 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) in the third-round clash. Six out of eight games in the first set went against serve. Sharapova's service game had also been a problem against Watson.

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"After the long match yesterday, I'm very happy to be able to win today. I was a little bit down in the second set and I'm just happy to win in two sets," added Sharapova, winner in Tokyo in 2005 and 2009. Safarova, ranked 17th against Sharapova's second in the world, came back from 0-3 down to 3-3 and then 4-4 before hitting a fine service return winner on break point to take a 5-4 lead in the second set.

Sharapova plays her quatrterfinal match against Samantha Stocer Thursday morning at 06:00 GMT. The match can be watched from the links given herein under:
Link

Read more: The News