Australia in semis after drubbing Russia
Hosts record commanding 4-0 win in crucial Fed Cup tie.
Stosur, the world number 16 and 2011 US Open champion, saw off 158-ranked teenager Victoria Kan in exactly an hour. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
HOBART:
Australia stormed into the Fed Cup semi-finals Sunday for the first time in 21 years with a commanding 4-0 performance led by two Samantha Stosur wins and a comprehensive doubles display.
Stosur, the world number 16 and 2011 US Open champion, saw off 158-ranked teenager Victoria Kan in exactly an hour. She achieved a straight sets 6-2, 6-3 win over the Fed Cup debutante to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead over Russia.
“I’m very, very happy,” said Stosur. “She [Kan] can do a lot of different things, she does everything nicely and when she gets older and a little bit stronger I’m sure that will all come together.
“We’re still in it, so we have a chance to win it,” she added of the Fed Cup.
Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua sealed a clean sweep of the Russians with an emphatic 6-1, 6-3 doubles win over Irina Khromacheva and Valeria Solovyeva.
Australia last made the Fed Cup semi-finals in 1993, and they had not beaten Russia since 1983.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 10th, 2014.
Australia stormed into the Fed Cup semi-finals Sunday for the first time in 21 years with a commanding 4-0 performance led by two Samantha Stosur wins and a comprehensive doubles display.
Stosur, the world number 16 and 2011 US Open champion, saw off 158-ranked teenager Victoria Kan in exactly an hour. She achieved a straight sets 6-2, 6-3 win over the Fed Cup debutante to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead over Russia.
“I’m very, very happy,” said Stosur. “She [Kan] can do a lot of different things, she does everything nicely and when she gets older and a little bit stronger I’m sure that will all come together.
“We’re still in it, so we have a chance to win it,” she added of the Fed Cup.
Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua sealed a clean sweep of the Russians with an emphatic 6-1, 6-3 doubles win over Irina Khromacheva and Valeria Solovyeva.
Australia last made the Fed Cup semi-finals in 1993, and they had not beaten Russia since 1983.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 10th, 2014.