Stosur ousted in 1st round at Sydney
U.S. Open champion Sam Stosur was bundled out in the first round of the Sydney International in a 6-2, 6-4 loss to Francesca Schiavone on Monday in another setback to her preparations for next week's Australian Open.
- Associated Press
- Updated: January 09, 2012 04:37 PM IST
U.S. Open champion Sam Stosur was bundled out in the first round of the Sydney International in a 6-2, 6-4 loss to Francesca Schiavone on Monday in another setback to her preparations for next week's Australian Open.
Schiavone beat Stosur in the 2010 French Open final and had little trouble disposing of the local favorite again.
No. 6-ranked Stosur won only one match in Brisbane last week and will be short of match sharpness in Melbourne, where she will chase back-to-back Grand Slam titles following her win over Serena Williams in the U.S. Open final last September.
"You do all the work leading up and you feel OK and then today all of a sudden it's just like a bombshell hits you," Stosur said. "The whole emotional side of things really took over.
"Melbourne is coming up and I want to start playing well. Being in Australia and playing in Australia, I want to play the best I can play and do it all here this month."
Schiavone will next play Brisbane International finalist Daniela Hantuchova, who beat another Italian, Roberta Vinci, 7-5, 6-2.