Stosur 'plays like a man' to blast Jankovic off court

JELENA Jankovic was blasted off court by Samantha Stosur before claiming her opponent had played like a man.

It was meant as a compliment from the Serb, who was demolished 6-1, 6-2 in an hour by the muscular Australian in the French Open semi-finals.

Stosur followed up her victories over modern greats Justine Henin and Serena Williams with her best performance of the tournament, completely overwhelming former world No 1 Jankovic.

She becomes the first Australian woman to reach a Grand Slam final since Wendy Turnbull was the runner-up at the 1980 Australian Open.

Jankovic said of Stosur after her defeat on Philippe Chatrier Court: "She kind of has almost the game of a man. When I look at how the men play, she has kind of a similar game. She has a very good kick serve, which not many women have. It has a very heavy spin. And then she runs around the forehand."

A delighted Stosur revealed the secrets behind her two biggest weapons. "I was 12 or 13 when my coach at the time showed me the serve," she said of a technique that is almost exclusive to the men's game.

"I picked it up pretty much straight away and all through my juniors up until now, it has been a strength of mine."