2012 French Open: Women's Semifinal #1 (Stosur v Errani)

                            (Photo credit: Roland Garros)

Head to Head (Click to see closer):

Of the last four remaining woman left at the French Open, Sara Errani is clearly the unlikeliest to win the title. But that doesn't refute the notion that the new Italian #1 is not the most comfortable on this surface of all the semifinalists.

Like her doubles partner Roberta Vinci did in the second half of 2011, Errani has raised her game to new heights this year, particularly when the tour moved to the dirt surface this spring. Already a sound mental player considering her diminutive stature (as seemingly the case with all the elite Italians right now), Errani has improved her serve and her backhand to dramatically raise her profile in the singles game this clay court season.

That profile could rise one step even further on Wednesday, but she will have to do that against a player whose style is analogous to hers, just with a lot more height and a little bit more power in Australia's Sam Stosur.

Stosur's kick serve is the key shot in the first women's semifinal, as it could be too much for Errani to handle consistently. Both ladies are fine athletes (tho Errani the far superior mover), comfortable at the net and have full all court acumen with the ability to drop the backhand slice and drop shot whenever possible.

The mental dynamics of the match favor Errani, so as long as the thought of her being in her first Slam semifinal does not get to her outside of the obvious start of the match. Stosur is the favorite and carries the expectations now to reach her second final at Roland Garros.

But as sometimes the case with the glass-wearing #6 seed, the moment of being the favorite can slightly get to Stosur as the tournament gets to the true narrow stages. She's more comfortable being the slight underdog than the heavy preferred choice, and that could be a problem if Errani is not overawed by the occasion.

Prediction: Nevertheless, Stosur should win this match, as she is playing someone who does everything she does on the court, just in a reduced package. Like a regular burger in comparison to the slider. But sometimes, in certain cases, the slider maybe just enough (or tastes better) than the whole burger.

Stosur in 2 sets.