Stosur, Matosevic progress in Madrid
Sam Stosur has demolished Australian Open finalist Dominika Cibulkova in the opening round of the Mutua Madrid Open while compatriot Marinko Matosevic took full advantage of his late entry with an upset defeat of Philipp Kohlschreiber.
Madrid, Spain, 6 May 2014 | AFP
Sam Stosur has turned her European claycourt season around in style with an upset straight sets win over ninth seed Dominika Cibulkova at the Mutua Madrid Open.
Stosur, unseeded after a quiet start to the year, demolished the Australian Open finalist 6-4 6-0.
It was an especially impressive victory given Stosur found herself down 3-0 to open the match, before reeling off 12 of the next 13 games to win.
The win, achieved in one hour and 17 minutes, saw Stosur improve her head-to-head record over Cibulkova to 4-0, and sets up a second round meeting with big-hitting Spaniard Garbine Muguruza.
It was a successful day for another Australian in the field, with Marinko Matosevic winning his first round match.
Matosevic had lost his final qualifying round match but gained a spot in the main draw as a lucky loser after the withdrawal of Novak Djokovic.
He took full advantage, easing to a 6-2 6-2 win over Phillip Kohlschreiber, the German world No.27.
The Victorian next faces No.9 seed John Isner of the United States.
Meanwhile, compatriot Lleyton Hewitt had a less successful day, going down to rising Colombian Santiago Giraldo.
The former US Open and Wimbledon champion put up a fight in the second set before losing to the qualifier 7-5 4-6 6-2.