Long-time standard bearer Samantha Stosur is once again Australia’s last survivor in the French Open women’s singles following second-round exits for European imports Daria Gavrilova and Ajla Tomljanovic.
Gavrilova retired with an abdominal strain after conceding the first set 6-1 against Germany’s 20th seed and former Wimbledon finalist Sabine Lisicki before Tomljanovic went down 6-3, 6-2 to another German, 11th seed Angelique Kerber.
But Stosur extended her claycourt winning streak to seven matches on Wednesday with a crushing 6-0 6-1 win over Frenchwoman Amandine Hesse to book a showdown with Russian titleholder Maria Sharapova.
The two grand slam champions collided in the fourth round last year when Stosur stood within two games of victory before Sharapova powered through the third and deciding set 6-0 en route to her second title in Paris.