Stosur beats Peer as Aussie men falter

Australian women’s doubles world No.1 Samantha Stosur has beaten 19-year-old Israeli talent Shahar Peer at the hard courts of Stanford in the United States to set up a possible third round match up with Russian world No.12 Nicole Vaidisova.

22-year-old Stosur, who is ranked just one spot lower than her career-high ranking at No.43, took full advantage of a service break in each set to claim an impressive 7-5 6-3 victory.

It is the first time she has beaten world No.26 Peer after being on the wrong end of the scoreboard on two previous occasions on clay – at Amelia Island in 2005 and in the final at Prague earlier this year in May.

Stosur’s win comes off the back of her crushing 6-1 6-3 first round defeat of qualifier Olga Savchuk, as she looks to set herself up for a successful US summer circuit on her preferred surface.

While Stosur has produced some inspiring results, men’s world No.13 Lleyton Hewitt kicked off his US Open campaign at the Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles with an unexpected humbling at the hands of American journeyman Paul Goldstein.

Hewitt was out of sorts against his 86th-ranked opponent, stumbling to a straight-sets 6-4 6-4 loss after arriving with his entourage just one day prior to his opening round match.

The usually dogged Aussie, whose last Tour match was his Wimbledon quarterfinal loss to Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis, was rusty in defeat and paid the ultimate price for his lack of preparation.

Australian veteran Wayne Arthurs tasted the same fate as his countryman, also going down in straight sets in the first round of the California event.

The big-serving Arthurs, who earned a spot in the main draw through the qualification rounds, was out-played by Germany’s Tommy Haas in extreme heat to also go down in straight sets, 6-4 6-4, but has won through to the second round of the doubles draw with compatriot Jordan Kerr.

Elsewhere, on the clay courts of the Kitzbuhel Open in Austria, Australian qualifier and Davis Cup representative Peter Luczak lost a tight second round contest against Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-6(3) 7-5, after beating Ivo Minar of the Czech Republic in the first round.

•  Have a view on this story? Send us your feedback!