Rome, Italy, 18 May 2012 | Tennis Australia

Sam Stosur has played her last match ahead of the French Open, falling in straight sets to Venus Williams in the third round of the Rome Masters.

The Australian, who defeated Williams in their last match in Charleston in April, was no match for the 31-year-old on Rome’s Centrale court, going down 6-4 6-3 in just over 90 minutes.

Stosur will have a week-and-a-half to continue fine-tuning her claycourt game ahead of the year’s second major at Roland Garros, which begins 27 May.

Williams, meanwhile, set up a quarterfinal battle with second seed Maria Sharapova.