Stosur through to semis in Paris

US Open champion Sam Stosur has secured her place in the French Open semi-finals with a 6-4 6-1 victory over Dominika Cibulkova on Court Philippe Chatrier.

The Australian, who lost to Francesca Schiavone in the final in 2010, was too powerful for 5ft 3in Cibulkova, the conqueror of world number one Victoria Azarenka in the fourth round.

The Slovakian mounted a brief comeback in the opening set, pulling back from 5-2 down to 5-4, and twice she had a chance to level, but Stosur held firm and clinched the game with two massive forehands. It was a shot that Cibulkova simply had no answer to, and in the second set Stosur breezed through, sealing victory at the first opportunity when her opponent netted a drop shot.

The 28-year-old sixth seed has now made the semi-finals at Roland Garros in three of the past four years, and will be a hot favourite to reach another final having seen all the other big names in her half of the draw fall away.

In the last four Stosur will play Italy's Sara Errani, who claimed her first victory over a top-10 player in 29 attempts by defeating German 10th seed Angelique Kerber 6-3 7-6 (7/2).