Tennis: Sam Stosur First Round Win
January 21st 2009 15:17
Australia's top-ranked player Samantha Stosur survived a mid-match slump to fight her way into the second round of the Australian Open. The 24-year-old Queenslander beat Czech Klara Zakopalova 7-6(7-5) 7-6 (7-0) in a straight sets win that was a much tighter match than it should have been.
Stosur, the world No.48 and only Australian man or woman inside the top 50, raced to a 5-1 lead in the opening set, with her powerful serve and forehand seemingly too much for dogged baseliner Zakopalova.
But, after her impressive start, unforced errors began to creep into the Australian's game and she allowed the Czech to work her way into the match.
Stosur twice unsuccessfully served for the opening set, before being taken to a tiebreak, which she clinched on her second set point.
But Zakopalova, buoyed by the momentum she had developed late in the first set, pushed to a 5-3 lead in the second, giving herself a chance to serve for the set.
Stosur's cause was not helped by leg muscle cramps, which caused her to call for medical attention in the break after the first set and again early in the second set.
But she regained her poise to break the Czech's serve and push the set into a tiebreak.
Stosur then zoomed through the tiebreak without losing a point, clinching the match on her first match point.
Stosur's victory continues her comeback towards the upper echelons of the women's game.
Once ranked as high as No.27, she fell out of the top 150 in 2008 due to almost a year spent out of the game because of illness, before she returned last June.
Stosur will play Germany's Sabine Lisicki in the second round, after Lisicki downed 30th seeded Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak earlier.
Stosur admitted to some concerns as she let her first set lead slip.
"Obviously some things were going wrong towards the end of the first set," she said.
"I just tried to calm down and not let things get worse.
"She's a competitor and fights well and it's never over no matter what the score is, anything can happen."
Stosur also said it was the first time in her career she had had an issue with cramping, but was confident she would recover quickly enough to be at full fitness for the next round.
AAP
Stosur, the world No.48 and only Australian man or woman inside the top 50, raced to a 5-1 lead in the opening set, with her powerful serve and forehand seemingly too much for dogged baseliner Zakopalova.
But, after her impressive start, unforced errors began to creep into the Australian's game and she allowed the Czech to work her way into the match.
Stosur twice unsuccessfully served for the opening set, before being taken to a tiebreak, which she clinched on her second set point.
But Zakopalova, buoyed by the momentum she had developed late in the first set, pushed to a 5-3 lead in the second, giving herself a chance to serve for the set.
Stosur's cause was not helped by leg muscle cramps, which caused her to call for medical attention in the break after the first set and again early in the second set.
But she regained her poise to break the Czech's serve and push the set into a tiebreak.
Stosur then zoomed through the tiebreak without losing a point, clinching the match on her first match point.
Stosur's victory continues her comeback towards the upper echelons of the women's game.
Once ranked as high as No.27, she fell out of the top 150 in 2008 due to almost a year spent out of the game because of illness, before she returned last June.
Stosur will play Germany's Sabine Lisicki in the second round, after Lisicki downed 30th seeded Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak earlier.
Stosur admitted to some concerns as she let her first set lead slip.
"Obviously some things were going wrong towards the end of the first set," she said.
"I just tried to calm down and not let things get worse.
"She's a competitor and fights well and it's never over no matter what the score is, anything can happen."
Stosur also said it was the first time in her career she had had an issue with cramping, but was confident she would recover quickly enough to be at full fitness for the next round.
AAP
| 22 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
subscribe to this blog
Go to Craig Hill's home page by clicking here
