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Stosur Begins U.S. Open Title Defense With a Rout Stosur Begins U.S. Open Title Defense With a Rout
(35 minutes later)
With the first rain clouds of the United States Open bearing down on the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, the initial women’s matches on the first day of the event seemed to be a race against the elements. Could the defending champion Samantha Stosur of Australia polish off Petra Martic of Croatia before the raindrops arrived? With the first rain clouds of the United States Open bearing down on the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, the initial women’s matches Monday seemed to be a race against the elements. Could the defending champion Samantha Stosur of Australia polish off Petra Martic of Croatia before the raindrops arrived?
The answer was a definitive yes. Stosur, seeded seventh, took 51 minutes to put the final touches on a 6-1, 6-1 victory in Arthur Ashe Stadium, the site of her one and only Grand Slam victory, which came last year. The answer was a definitive yes. Stosur, seeded seventh, took 51 minutes to put the final touches on a 6-1, 6-1 victory in Arthur Ashe Stadium, the site of her one and only Grand Slam victory, which came last year. Her reward this year was to kick off the first round of the Open and beat the weather.
“I was really looking forward to getting this year’s tournament started,” Stosur said after the match. “Last year was the highlight of my career, so it’s really nice to come back to a place where I feel so comfortable.”“I was really looking forward to getting this year’s tournament started,” Stosur said after the match. “Last year was the highlight of my career, so it’s really nice to come back to a place where I feel so comfortable.”
Martic was not much of a threat to make her feel uncomfortable, not having played a match since Wimbledon. She served well and accurately, but could manage only 7 winners to Stosur’s 22. Stosur powered through five straight games in the first set and looked strong throughout. Stosur’s was one of few matches to finish before rain doused the courts for several hours. Play resumed just before 3 p.m., with Andy Murray taking his spot in Ashe Stadium to play the American Alex Bogomolov Jr. Murray, fresh off a victory in the Olympics, had his serve broken immediately but quickly turned the first set back in his favor, 6-2.
“I wanted to come out and start well,” Stosur said. “For me to play well, it’s good to get off to a good start. You could tell she was a little bit rusty, so it was good to get those early breaks.” Stosur had little of that drama. Martic did not win a point until the fifth game as Stosur raced out to a 5-0 lead. Martic had not played since Wimbledon because of injury. She served well and accurately, but could manage only 7 winners to Stosur’s 22.
The rain came shortly after that match ended, and play has been called. “I think it was a really good start,” Stosur said. “I thought I served really well. There isn’t really anything that I’d say I have to go out on the practice court and work on. Tomorrow I will go out there and practice and I will be trying, you know, to fine-tune a few things.
In other early matches, Marion Bartoli of France, the 11th seed, jumped out quickly on the American Jamie Hampton and was leading, 6-3, and headed to a tiebreaker in the second when the rain started. Li Na of China, seeded ninth, was up, 6-2, 5-3, on Heather Watson of Britain. “But I think the first round is down, and it was a good start. As the week progresses, then you work on whatever you need to.”
James Blake, who rarely does anything quickly whether he is playing well or poorly, won his first two sets, 7-5, 6-2, over Lukas Lacko of Slovakia. In other early matches, Marion Bartoli of France, the 11th seed, jumped out quickly on the American Jamie Hampton and was leading, 6-3, and headed to a tiebreaker in the second when the rain started. She returned to the court to win the tiebreaker, 7-5. Li Na of China, seeded ninth, was up, 6-2, 5-3, on Heather Watson of Britain and finished it off, 6-3, when play resumed.
James Blake, who rarely does anything quickly whether he is playing well or poorly, won his first two sets, 7-5, 6-2, over Lukas Lacko of Slovakia before the delay, then lost the third set, 3-6, after play resumed.