Sam Stosur Fed Cup Australia vs. Germany
Australia's Samantha Stosur hits a return to Germany's Andrea Petkovic during their Fed Cup World Group tennis match in Stuttgart, April 22, 2012. REUTERS/Thomas Peter REUTERS/Thomas Peter

Australian top-ranked players Sam Stosur and Daria Gavrilova have returned to action in separate Women’s Tennis Association events in Europe. Stosur is playing at the Nurnberger GasteinLadies event while Gavrilova failed to bring pride to Australia at the Istanbul Cup. Both events are happening from July 20 to 26, 2015.

Stosur, who is seeded second, managed to avoid the casualties list after beating qualifier Anastasija Sevastova 6-4 4-6 6-1 in the first round. She will take on Klara Koukalova in the second round. Stosur leads the head-to-head series against 100th-ranked Koukalova 4-2. It will be their first encounter this season.

The 23rd-ranked Australian played Koukalova twice in 2014. She lost to the Koukalova in straight sets 6-3 6-2 in the first round of the Hobart International, but took her revenge against the Czech tennis player when she beat her 6-3 6-4 in the first round of the Australian Open.

The players’ field in Stosur’s half of the draw includes Carina Witthoeft, Anna Karolina Schmiedlova and Katerina Siniakova. Last year’s semifinalist Sara Errani of Italy is the top seed in the tournament. The tournament offers 280 points and $43,000 prize money for the winner. World No. 16 Andrea Petkovic is the defending champion, but chose to compete in the tournament. Petkovic, who last played in the third round of the Wimbledon Championships, also won the Nurnberger GasteinLadies title in 2009.

Meanwhile, Australian No. 2 Gavrilova was ousted in the first round of the Istanbul Cup, where World No. 5 Caroline Wozniacki is the defending champion. Gavrilova, seeded sixth, was upset by unseeded Lesia Tsurenko in the opener 7-6 3-6 6-3. A number of high-seeded players failed to come through including top seed Venus Williams, second seed Elina Svitolina, third seed Jelena Jankovic, and seventh seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Wlliams, Svitolina, and Pavlyunchenkova all lost in straight sets against their opponents.

During the qualifying session, Australian teen Sara Tomic scored a first-round victory over Kristyna Pliskova 6-4 4-6 6-4. Unfortunately, she failed to qualify for the main draw after losing to Ukrainian Olga Savchuk, who fought back after being down in the first set 3-6 6-3 6-3.

To report problems about this article or leave feedback, email r.corpuz@IBTimes.com.au.

RELATED STORIES