Sam Stosur loses to Daria Gavrilova in Montreal

Australia’s top-ranked player Sam Stosur’s preparations for the US Open got off to a poor start after she was eliminated in the first round of the 2015 Rogers Cup. Stosur lost to fellow compatriot, Russian-born Daria Gavrilova in straight sets 6-4 6-4.

The first-round match was an all-Aussie affair featuring Australia’s top two tennis players. Gavrilova dispatched Stosur in one hour and 28 minutes.

The result came as a surprise as Stosur, who was the 2011 Rogers Cup finalist, entered the tournament winning eight of her last nine matches. She won her second title of the season in Bad Gastein claycourt event and reached the semifinals of her first hardcourt tournament at the Citi Open in Washington. Stosur’s defeat to 40th-ranked Gavrilova was the 13th time that she had lost to a lower-ranked player this season.

Stosur will have one more tournament before this year’s last grand slam at Flushing Meadows, which begins on Aug. 31. The 31-year-old, who won the 2011 US Open, will be hoping to get better results at the Cincinnati Masters, also known as the Western & Southern Open. She is slated to take part in the Cincinnati event according to her tournament schedule.

Meanwhile, Gavrilova will play seventh-seeded French Open runner-up Lucie Safarova in the second round. It marks the first encounter for the two players. The Czech player is playing her first tournament since her fourth-round exit at the All England Club, where she was upset by unseeded American Coco Vandeweghe in straight sets 7-6 (1) 7-6 (4).

Vandeweghe also took part in the Montreal tennis tournament. However, the American was eliminated in the first round. She lost to qualifier Carina Witthoft of Germany 6-3 3-6 6-1.

Top seed Serena Williams advanced in the third round. The World No. 1, who is bidding to win all four slams of the season, defeated unseeded Italian Flavia Penneta in three sets 2-6 6-3 6-0.

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