Andy Roddick and Sam Stosur commit to Brisbane 2011
Defending champion Andy Roddick has committed to play at the Brisbane International in 2011, with tournament organisers also locking in local hope Sam Stosur to play in the women’s draw.
The news that Stosur will be playing for WTA ranking points in her home state of Queensland next January, means that by inference the world No. 6 will not be returning to play in the Hopman Cup in Perth next year.
Stosur had teamed up with Australian men’s No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt to contest the mixed teams event in January 2010, but the pair failed to progress to the final after losses to Spain and Romania in the group stages.
With 2011’s Hopman Cup due to take place from January 1st-8th and Brisbane beginning the day after, it looks like this year Hewitt (who was earlier this month named in Australia’s team for the Perth-based event) will be seeking a new partner next year.
Stosur last played in Brisbane in 2009, when ranked as the world No. 51 she lost in the second round. But Stosur should return as a top-10 player and, potentially, one of the favourites to claim the title won by Kim Clijsters this year in a three set final against fellow Belgian comeback queen Justine Henin.
While there’s no word yet on whether Clijsters will be returning to defend her title, Henin has been named in Belgium’s Hopman Cup team (along with Steve Darcis) so won’t be in the Brisbane draw in 2011.
“It is going to be really fun to play in front of my family and friends and, of course, the Queensland public who have always been so supportive of me throughout my career,” Stosur said. “With any luck I will get the chance to be there on the final day of the tournament and be the first Aussie champion of the Brisbane International.”
Roddick has also elected to begin his Australian Open warm-up in the Sunshine State after a successful first visit in 2010, when he defeated 2009 winner Radek Stepanek in the final before moving on to Melbourne Park, where he reached the quarter-finals of the year’s first Grand Slam.
“I enjoyed the tournament [this year] and I feel it is the best preparation for me for the Australian Open,” Roddick said on the tournament’s website.
“It was a big tournament for me last year just because I was coming off an extended lay-off and so I was a little anxious to get back out on the court and obviously to come away with a win was more than I expected and it was a good memory,” said the world No. 9.
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