Stosur crumbles in first round in Melbourne

Wednesday, 18 January 2012 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: U.S. Open champion Sam Stosur crumbled once again under the huge weight of local expectation to crash out of the Australian Open 7-6 6-3 at the hands of Romania’s Sorana Cirstea in the first round on Tuesday.

Sixth seed Stosur, who has never been past the fourth round at Melbourne Park, battled bravely at the end to stave off defeat but will rue 33 unforced errors on Rod Laver Arena.

Cirstea, who reached the quarter-finals at Roland Garros in 2009, found the lines with her looping forehands to keep Stosur on the back foot and was ruthless when she came into the net.

The 21-year-old sealed the victory on her fourth match point after 91 minutes to leave Australia’s search for a first women’s champion since Chris O’Neil in 1978 almost certainly destined to continue for another year.