tennis

Cibulkova: Stosur 'plays like a man'

Published Jun. 5, 2012 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

Sam Stosur's most recently vanquished French Open opponent has sent an ominous warning to anyone crossing the Australian's path, saying she "plays like a man."

Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova was awestruck by Stosur's kick serve and ripping topspin during a 6-4, 6-1 win by the No. 6 seed in their quarterfinal Tuesday.

"She played unbelievable today," Cibulkova said.

"Her topspin and her serve, I mean, she played like a man, and it's really hard to play against a man. It was driving me crazy on the court today. So it was really, really hard."

At just 5 feet 3, the diminutive Cibulkova struggled against Stosur's high-bouncing game.

Stosur's semifinal opponent, Sara Errani, knows the feeling. The similarly petite Italian — Errani is 5-5 and 132 pounds — never has beaten her in five attempts.

They met in Rome last month, with Stosur — who is listed at 5-7 3/4 and 143 pounds — winning in straight sets.

Wednesday's quarterfinal action will feature second-seeded Maria Sharapova against Kaia Kanepi of Estonia, while reigning Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova takes on surprising qualifier Yaroslava Shvedova.

Get more from tennis Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic