Samantha Stosur of Australia hits a return to Sorana
Cirstea of Romania during their women's singles match at
the Australian Open in Melbourne today. REUTERS/Tim
Wimborne
US Open champion Sam Stosur crumbled once again under the
huge weight of local expectation to crash out of the Australian
Open 7-6 6-3 at the hands of Romania's Sorana Cirstea in the
first round today.
Sixth seed Stosur, who has never been past the fourth round
at Melbourne Park, battled bravely at the end to stave off
defeat but will rue 33 unforced errors on Rod Laver Arena.
Cirstea, who reached the quarter-finals at Roland Garros in
2009, found the lines with her looping forehands to keep
Stosur on the back foot and was ruthless when she came into
the net.
The 21-year-old sealed the victory on her fourth match point
after 91 minutes to leave Australia's search for a first
women's champion since Chris O'Neil in 1978 almost certainly
destined to continue for another year.
A name, residential address, and (preferably residential) telephone number is required from readers who comment on ODT Online. These details will not be visible to site visitors.