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Australia’s Sam Stosur has powered her way into Round 2 of the Australian Open with a 6-4 6-1 win over Monica Niculescu.
In a dominant match by the Australian she was able to nullify the tactics of her Romanian opponent to record a comfortable passage into Round 2.
At the start of the match, it was a close affair, as Niculescu used her trademark slice forehand to trouble the Australian.
Games went on serve until 4-4 in the first set with Stosur surviving a break point chance on her serve.
The save would be vital as Stosur broke Niculescu in the 9th game of the set to take a 5-4 lead.
She would then consolidate the break and hold serve to take the first set.
The break from Stosur in the first set turned the match.
The Queenslander was able to take the momentum of the set win, and race to a 3-0 lead in the second set.
From there she was never threatened.
Despite a break to Niculescu, to make it 3-1, the Australian fought back and won the final three games of the match.
Stosur was delighted with the win and was happy with her patience in the match.
“I thought I did a good job today of moving forward and force her to do something different.”
“I was obviously in control of most of the rallies going on out there, but I had to be patient to make
sure I worked the point enough before I’d come in.”
“I thought I did that well today.”
Stosur added that her success at other Grand Slams could help her as she tries to go on a run in Melbourne.
“I would love to do well here. I guess having the results I’ve had in other slams I proved to myself that I can go deep in these tournaments. Obviously I want to try and do as best I can here in Australia. If I can
get results like that here, like I have overseas, then, yeah, I would walk away leaving Melbourne pretty
happy.”
Her next opponent is CoCo Vandeweghe. An opponent which Stosur describes as a powerful player.
“CoCo has one of the biggest serves on tour. Doesn’t really hold back on any shot, whether it’s serve or
groundstrokes. She’s a big girl. She has lots of power. You got to kind of combat that with what you
got to do. That’s hard,” she added.
That match, which will be played on Thursday, provides Stosur with the chance to make the third round of the Australian Open for the 7th time.
For today though, the monkey is off the back, as Stosur comfortably progresses to round 2.
“Australia’s number one women’s player, Sam Stosur, kicks off her 2015 Australian Open campaign today against Romanian Monica Niculescu on Rod Laver Arena this morning.
Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match from 11am AEDT.
How Sam Stosur goes at the Australian Open is one of the biggest questions about the tournament when it comes around every 12 months.
Her record at the event, while highly criticised, is actually not that bad. She has made the fourth round in 2006 and 2010 and the third round in 2003, 2009, 2011 and 2014.
Unfortunately for the 2011 US Open champion, an Australian crowd demand more from their Grand Slam stars. Her performances have also been highlighted because of her capitulations to Sorana Cirstea in 2012 and Jie Zheng in 2013. Against Zheng, she was 5-2 up in the final set, before losing 7-5 to the Chinese player.
Unfortunately for Stosur this tendency to choke in Australian matches continued in Brisbane this year against Varvara Lepchenko.
Against Lepchenko, she was 5-1 up in the final set, before losing 7-5 to the American. It doesn’t paint a pretty picture that is for sure.
Today she plays an opponent that can trouble Stosur. Niculescu has a game which is best described as interesting. Her tactic is purely to frustrate and force her opponents into mistakes. She plays a slice forehand with almost every shot and a two normal two-handed backhand for the rest of the points.
The sliced shots, which are incredibly slow, are used to move her opponent around the court and create the errors. Her game will be something people will talk about when it is over today.
Unfortunately for Stosur this doesn’t bode well. In the first round of the Australian Open she wants an opponent who won’t provide too many shock tactics, or changes in direction with their shots.
This match-up, between the world number 48, and the 20th ranked Stosur, will be a tough one for the Australian. The positive for Stosur is that she has won all four match-ups between the two.
The last one, in Doha, was won 6-4 1-6 6-3 by Stosur. In the last two matches between the two, Niculescu has won a set.
I expect her to win a set as well today and really trouble Stosur. For Stosur to win, her serve and her forehand, need to be strong. Against Lucie Safarova in the Sydney International she won the match because of her risk with the serve. She needs to continue that today.
This is a danger match for me. It is one of those matches that Stosur can lose from a winnable position.
I predict the Australian to win in three sets but it will be tight and close. Don’t be surprised if Niculescu provides Stosur with another Australian Open upset though. The Romanian can play and she will be hard to beat.
PREDICTION – Stosur 2-1
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