Dominika Cibulkova falls into the latter group, and on Friday at Roland Garros, the Australian continued her mastery of the Slovak with a 6-4, 6-4 victory in the third round on Suzanne Lenglen Court.
"I think it's the first time I won three matches in a row for a while," she said.
"I'm really happy with the way I played today.
And to keep playing well when your opponent is putting you under pressure at certain times in the match, it's really amazing to come out of those as well.
And I'm pleased to find myself in the fourth round."
Coming into the tie, Stosur had never dropped a set against the 2014 Australian Open finalist in four career meetings. Two of those victories were especially notable; right here at Roland Garros in the quarter-finals two years ago, and just a few weeks ago on red clay in Madrid, where she reeled off 12 straight games after trailing 0-4 in the first set.
In the early stages of this match, the same old patterns that serve Stosur so well – and give Cibulkova fits – were on display, as the 19th seed broke serve immediately to open a 2-0 lead. Cibulkova got her teeth into the match with some powerful and consistent hitting to level at 2-2 and moved ahead 40-15 in the fifth game, but after some errors brought the game back to deuce, Stosur sliced a winner up the line off a drop shot and then belted an inside-out forehand winner to break for 3-2.
This had to be demoralising for the No.9 seed. You could even see it in her eyes – she was contending not only with a tricky opponent, but a nagging sense of inevitability and futility. Stosur’s blueprint for success on red clay – a heavy first service followed by a powerful forehand off the short reply – was being executed to perfection, especially in the sixth game, when she followed up three huge first services with powerful winners and capped the game with an ace.
It was all clicking for Stosur, and there was nothing Cibulkova could do. Down a set, the Slovak continued to fight, an admirable trademark. The first two games of the second set took almost 20 minutes to complete, but she could never gain the upper hand in the match; despite holding several break points to move ahead 2-0, Stosur was always able to muster a winner. Another ace made it 1-1.
The match progressed on service until the seventh game, when, sensing an opening for Stosur at 0-30, the French crowd began their traditional rhythmic clapping. The suspense was building, and soon Cibulkova double-faulted, handing Stosur a break point, which she would convert. A drop-shot winner in the next game followed by an ace put Stosur ahead 5-3.
The ninth seed held to make Stosur serve for the match, but the Aussie would not be denied. Despite falling 15-30 behind, she cracked a backhand winner up the line then landed her 10th ace on match point to progress.
