Share

Stosur captures 500th singles win

Washington - Australia's Samantha Stosur, the 2011 US Open champion, won her 500th career singles match victory Tuesday, defeating France's Kristina Mladenovic 6-2, 6-2 at the WTA and ATP Washington Open.

The 31-year-old second seed from Brisbane needed only 64 minutes to improve to 4-0 against Mladenovic and book a second-round date with American Irina Falconi.

"My serve set me up. There weren't a lot of long rallies. Bing. Bang. It was over," said Stosur, who had no clue about the landmark win total until well after the victory.

"Now that I know, (feels) really good," Stosur said of her milestone triumph. "Five hundred is a lot of matches. Nice to make that and know you have had a pretty big career."

The top Aussie on the all-time women's match win list is Evonne Goolagong Cawley with 695.

In pondering her all-time top triumphs, Stosur went directly to her Grand Slam title run, which she won by defeating current world number one and 21-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams 6-2, 6-3 in the final four years ago at Flushing Meadows.

But also drawing her attention was a three-set US Open semi-final win over Germany's Angelique Kerber, a three-set thriller over Russian Maria Kirilenko in the round of 16 and a third-rounder over Nadia Petrova she took 7-5 in the third after splitting two tie-breakers.

"Obviously the US Open has been the highlight, not just the final - a couple matches in there were really tight," Stosur said. "And maybe the first time I won a final back in Osaka.

That Osaka title came in 2009 with a finals win over Italy's Francesca Schiavone and after Stosur had recovered from Lyme disease, which sidelined her for parts of the 2007 and 2008 campaigns.

"A few matches I lost have been memorable," she said. "There have been a lot of great moments. I've had those highs along the way and lows as well."

Stosur, ranked 21st, is coming off her second title of the year, and the eighth of her career, on the Austrian clay at Bad Gastein.

"It's a nice feeling to play well in those moments, in the finals," Stosur said. "Winning tournaments, wherever they are, gives you a boost."

She also won on clay at Strasbourg in May but makes her first visit to the US capital event to start her US Open preparations.

"I'm feeling good," Stosur said. "It's nice to get back on the hardcourts again."

Results on Tuesday from the second day of the ATP and WTA Washington Open (x denotes seeding):

Men

Second round

Sam Querrey (USA) bt Go Soeda (JPN) 6-3, 5-7, 6-4

Jack Sock (USA) bt Ruben Bemelmans (BEL) 7-6 (9/7), 6-3

Vasek Pospisil (CAN) bt Donald Young (USA) 7-5, 6-3

Kei Nishikori (JPN x2) bt James Duckworth (AUS) 6-7 (8/10), 6-1, 6-4

Marin Cilic (CRO x3) bt Chung Hyeon (KOR) 7-6 (7/2), 6-3

First round

Steve Johnson (USA) bt Lukas Lacko (SVK) 7-5, 6-3

Sam Groth (AUS) bt Thomaz Bellucci (BRA) 7-6 (10/8), 4-6, 6-3

Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) bt John-Patrick Smith (AUS) 6-3, 6-4

Blaz Rola (SLO) bt Denis Kudla (USA) 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/5)

Guido Pella (ARG) bt Ivan Dodig (CRO) 6-3, 6-7 (7/9), 7-5

Alexandr Dolgopolov (UKR) bt Tim Smyczek (USA) 6-4, 6-2

Gilles Muller (LUX) bt Malek Jaziri (TUN) 6-3, 7-5

Women

First round

Samantha Stosur (AUS x2) bt Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) 6-2, 6-2

Christina McHale (USA) bt CoCo Vandeweghe (USA x7) 6-2, 4-6, 6-4

Polona Hercog (SLO) bt Julia Glushko (ISR) 6-2, 7-5

Ekaterina Makarova (RUS x1) bt Alison Van Uytvanck (BEL) 7-5, 7-5

Naomi Broady (GBR) bt Jarmila Gajdosova (AUS) 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (8/6)

Belinda Bencic (SUI x3) bt Tereza Smitkova (CZE) 7-5, 6-4

Sloane Stephens (USA) bt Magda Linette (POL) 6-2, 6-1

Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS x4) bt Sanaz Marand (USA) 6-2, 6-4

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) bt Magdalena Rybarikova (SVK) 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/3)

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should Siya Kolisi keep the captaincy as the Springboks build towards their World Cup title defence in 2027?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Siya will only be 36 at the next World Cup. He can make it!
26% - 1273 votes
No! I think the smart thing to do is start again with a younger skipper ...
29% - 1470 votes
I'd keep Siya captain for now, but look to have someone else for 2027.
45% - 2244 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE