Samantha Stosur to play at 2013 Apia International Sydney – Tennis News
Australia’s best woman tennis player, Samantha Stosur, has confirmed that she will take part in next year’s APIA International Sydney tournament at home. The hard court event will be organized from January 6 to 12 and will serve
as a warm event for the first Grand Slam of the season, the Australian Open.
APIA International Sydney is one of the toughest events on the men’s and women’s tour, as almost all of the top players in the world participate here to prepare themselves in similar conditions to what they get at the Australian
Open.
Stosur stated in her confirmation statement, “Every year the tournament is tough, the cut off is around 25 in the world so you really jump straight in the deep end there. Going into the first Grand Slam of the year you want to
be playing the best in the world and that always happens in Sydney.”
The Australian number one will be featuring at this event for the eighth time. Making her debut in 2005, Stosur reached the title match. Luck also favoured the right-hander, as he received walkover against Lindsay Davenport and
Elena Dementieva in the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively. However, she went down against her compatriot, Alicia Molik, in three sets in the final.
Stosur managed to win just a couple of matches in her next six appearances in this event. She was beaten by Czech Republic’s Nicole Vaidisova in the first round in 2006. The Australian star toppled Vera Zvonareva in the opener
in 2007 but she lost to Jelena Jankovic in the second round.
The Brisbane resident did not take part at the APIA International Sydney in 2008 and when she made comeback in the following year, it did not proved to be a good one, as she was lost to Serena Williams in the first round.
Featuring in this event for the fifth time in 2010, Stosur could not improve her performance compare to the preceding year, going down against Italy’s Flavia Pennetta in the first round. In 2011, she managed to clear the first
hurdle by beating Yanina Wickmayer but lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the second round.
Despite her not so good performance at the event, the Australian player enjoys it, as she said, “There are lots of friends and family that come out and support me and it just feels like home. What better way to get ready for the
Australian Open than Sydney.”
Earlier this year, Stosur went down at the hands of Francesca Schiavone in the first round.
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