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With both players coming off wins on day one of the 2016 Fed Cup, Aussie Samantha Stosur will be under pressure to take the victory over Anna Karolina Schmiedlova. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 10:50pm (AEDT).
Schmiedlova took on Arina Rodionova in the first rubber yesterday. While she was able to walk away with a two sets to one victory, it was far from smooth sailing for the world No.29. She struggled with her serve, and clearly had no confidence in her game, dropping the first set.
While she was able to bounce back and take both the second and third sets, she will seriously have to up her game when she takes on Stosur who, with all respect to Rodionova, is a much higher quality opponent and will launch onto the serves of Schmiedlova.
Stosur in her match against Jana Cepelova was able to take a dominating straight sets victory. After crashing out in the first round of the Australian Open, it was the confidence booster she needed to get her season, and the Fed Cup, on the right track.
Schmiedlova has also been in terrible form during the lead up to the Fed Cup, and bombed out of the Australian Open in the first round.
With Rodionova taking on Cepelova in the fourth rubber, it could go either way. That means this rubber has a lot of pressure on it, with both players looking to take the pressure off their teammate.
The pair have played twice before with Stosur taking both meetings. In saying that, they have never met on the hard court, with the previous meetings being on clay and grass. Stosur managed to take both matches in straight sets, and has never been challenged by Schmiedlova.
With the recent form of Schmiedlova it is hard to see that changing this time around either.
The court has been much talked about in Slovakia. It it an incredibly slow one, with poor bounce and it has made it generally hard for the players to stick to their normal game. Whoever deals with it better could walk away with the victory.
Prediction
Schmiedlova, even though she won yesterday really looked in all sorts with her serve. Stosur played a dominant match, and should walk away with the win here. In saying that, Schmiedlova should grab a set at some point.
Stosur in three sets.
Join The Roar for live coverage of the third rubber at the 2016 Federation Cup between Slovakia and Australia from 11pm (AEDT) and don’t forget to add your comments in the section below.
Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde