Both Samantha Stosur and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova will be searching for their first win of 2017 when they do battle during the first round of the Sydney International. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 1:30pm (AEDT).
Stosur’s build-up to the first grand slam of the year might be reportedly going well off the court, but she hasn’t had enough match practice to prove it yet.
She turned out at an event she has often struggled at – the Brisbane International – to kick start her season, but it fell flat with a first-round exit at the hands of world No.4 Garbine Muguruza.
The problem for Stosur though was not that she lost – it’s that she couldn’t continue her work to prepare for the Australian Open because she played a fantastic style of tennis for the most part over three sets and nearly as many hours.
It was a marked improvement from Stosur on the thrashing she received from Muguruza in the 2016 French Open semi-final and she will be keen to carry that over here for her first win of the season.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, on the other hand always approaches the hard court season with an air of confidence, the surface being by far her best to play on.
She will be hoping to get the better of Stosur here by playing long points and waiting for the noted inconsistency of her opponent to get the better of her.
Unfortunately, for that to happen she has to be in some sort of form herself and she simply isn’t. While conditions were tough at the ASB Classic in Auckland, where she played her first event of the season it was no excuse to be smashed in straight sets.
Ranked in the top 30 now, Pavlyuchenkova had a strong 2016 but looked anything but in her first round Auckland match against Julia Georges going down in a demoralising straight sets defeat.
It was far from a good enough performance for a player who will be likely seeded at the Australian Open and her unforced error count from the game will be truly worrying for the young Russian.
The pair have previously faced off five times with Stosur holding the ledger 3-2, including both times they have met on the hard court. The winner of this match will go on to face fifth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Prediction
This is going to be a good first round fight – maybe the best match on the card. Stosur will need to defend well, especially against serve, but if her fitness is anything like it was in Brisbane, then she will get the job done in what could turn into quite a long match.
Stosur in three sets.
Be sure to join The Roar for live scores and coverage of the 2017 Sydney International from around 1:30pm (AEDT) or following the completion of Mitch Barton vs Kyle Edmund and don’t forget to add your own comments in the section below.
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Scott Pryde
Expert
Thanks for joining me for The Roar's live coverage of Sam Stosur vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova this afternoon as the Aussie was knocked out in the first round of the Sydney International. Hopefully you enjoyed the coverage. Plenty of Tennis still to come today, among them Daria Gavrilova vs Donna Vekic with Tim Miller at 5pm (AEDT) and the Fast 4 Tennis tournament at 7:30pm (AEDT) with Riley Pettigrew. I'll be live with the Brisbane Bullets vs Perth Wildcats from 7:30pm (AEDT) in the NBL this evening. Bye for now.
Scott Pryde
Expert
GAME, SET, MATCH Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova This has been an absolute smashing. Pavlyuchenkova has wrapped this up in 65 minutes with big serving, big hitting and an awesome game. She goes on to play Svetlana Kuznetsova. Plenty of questions for Stosur ahead of the Australian Open. Samantha Stosur 3 1 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6 6
Scott Pryde
Expert
Fault this time before she goes wide. Stosur gets the return in but is on the run and puts a backhand wide now trying to get it into the corner of the court. 2 match points. Stosur 3 1 - 15 Pavlyuchenkova 6 5 - 40
Scott Pryde
Expert
Pavlyuchenkova looking to finish this match rather quickly here as she comes to the net but plants her overhead into the net. Stosur 3 1 - 15 Pavlyuchenkova 6 5 - 30
Scott Pryde
Expert
Pavlyuchenkova with a big serve into the middle here before Stosur sends a forehand long. Stosur 3 1 - 0 Pavlyuchenkova 6 5 - 30
Scott Pryde
Expert
Lovely strokeplay from Pavlyuchenkova. That's an all-powerful forehand into the corner there. Stosur 3 1 - 0 Pavlyuchenkova 6 5 - 15
Scott Pryde
Expert
Fault from Stosur before she is sent on the run but hits a wonderful passing backhand as Pavlyuchenkova comes to the net. She gets on the board in the second set. Stosur 3 1 - Pavlyuchenkova 6 5 -
Scott Pryde
Expert
Serve down the middle from Stosur and she comes up to the net, putting away the overhead into the corner. Stosur 3 0 - 40 Pavlyuchenkova 6 5 - 30
Scott Pryde
Expert
Serve down the middle from Stosur before she eventually puts a forehand long. Stosur 3 0 - 30 Pavlyuchenkova 6 5 - 30
Scott Pryde
Expert
Stosur with a fault now before Pavlyuchenkova returns well and gets right into this point. A rally breaks out before Stosur puts in a ripping forehand to the corner for the winner. Stosur 3 0 - 30 Pavlyuchenkova 6 5 - 15
Scott Pryde
Expert
ACE! Stosur goes down the middle. Stosur 3 0 - 15 Pavlyuchenkova 6 5 - 15
Scott Pryde
Expert
Stosur up to the net this time after a reasonable serve. Hits the tape on the net which brings Pavluchenkova up and she smacks the passing shot for the winner. Stosur 3 0 - 0 Pavlyuchenkova 6 5 - 15
Scott Pryde
Expert
Another fault here before Stosur runs around the second serve and turns it into a forehand, but only can put the next one into the net. Stosur serving now to extend the match and not much else. This has been a thrashing. Stosur 3 0 - Pavlyuchenkova 6 5 -
Scott Pryde
Expert
Pavlyuchenkova now with a fault before Stosur returns on the backhand. It's a little short but an unforced error from Pavlyuchenkova as she puts the next backhand into the net. Stosur 3 0 - 30 Pavlyuchenkova 6 4 - 40
Scott Pryde
Expert
Stosur finally gets a point back here as she returns serve well, then plays a few good backhands before Pavlyuchenkova puts one of her own into the net. Stosur 3 0 - 15 Pavlyuchenkova 6 4 - 40
Scott Pryde
Expert
Body serve and Stosur returns well off the court. Stosur 3 0 - 0 Pavlyuchenkova 6 4 - 40
Scott Pryde
Expert
Fault from Pavlyuchenkova this time before Stosur returns the second into the net trying to run around it and attack with a forehand. Stosur 3 0 - 0 Pavlyuchenkova 6 4 - 30
Scott Pryde
Expert
Wide first serve from Pavlyuchenkova as Stosur returns the backhand long. Stosur 3 0 - 0 Pavlyuchenkova 6 4 - 15
Scott Pryde
Expert
Fault here as Stosur looks to go wide before a slow body serve again puts her on the backfoot. She comes to the net but it doesn't matter as Stosur sends one wide. This is just good play from Pavlyuchenkova, terrible play from Stosur. Stosur 3 0 - Pavlyuchenkova 6 4 -
Scott Pryde
Expert
That's a wonderful return of serve from Pavlyuchenkova there, allowing her to get up to the net and play the overhead to win the point. Stosur 3 0 - 15 Pavlyuchenkova 6 3 - 40