Update 6.32 pm. Sam Stosur has recovered from a slow start to deliver the knock out punch to qualifier Lucie Hradecka in their first-round match at the Brisbane International.
Stosur looked nervous early but recovered to take the match 7-6(1) 6-1 in 86 minutes.
Broken in the opening game of the match by Hradecka, Stosur was on the back foot early. Stosur looked out of sorts early as her forehand flew wide of the mark as some uncharacteristic unforced errors and some opportunistic play from Hradecka put the qualifier in a strong position to cause the upset of the tournament.
“I thought she got off to a pretty good start. Obviously she was winning on the scoreboard, but she was hitting the ball very well and she’s got a huge serve so at the start it was maybe a bit hard to read that,” said Stosur after the win.
Stosur, however, wasn’t about to disappoint her home crowd. After breaking back, she hung on to win the first set tiebreaker, which she dominated.
“I was really pleased with the way that I was able to then claw my way back and then get through the first set and then from there I thought I played better and her game dropped off a little bit as well.
“I didn’t panic, I didn’t start freaking out and thinking I had to play unbelievable to try and get back. I just took it point by point and slowly started getting it back.
The second set by contrast was an entirely different affair. Stosur controlled the set as she found her groove and put on an exhibition for her delighted fans.
Stosur’s win sets up an all-Australian affair in the second round where she will meet Jarmila Groth who eased past Arantxa Parra Santonja 6-2 7-5 on Sunday.
“Today was maybe good practice to play someone like Jarka (Jarmila Groth). She hits the ball extremely hard as well – big serve, big forehand and maybe a similar game style so hopefully today will help me for tomorrow.”