Australia storm into Fed Cup semi-finals with Russia win
Samantha Stosur the heroine as the former US Open champion wins both her singles and doubles matches in Hobart
Australia stormed into the Fed Cup semi-finals on Sunday for the first time in 21 years with a commanding 4-0 performance led by two Samantha Stosur wins and a comprehensive doubles display.
Stosur, the world number 16 and 2011 US Open champion, saw off 158-ranked teenager Victoria Kan in exactly an hour, with a straight sets 6-2, 6-3 win over the 18-year-old Fed Cup debutante to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead over Russia.
“I’m very, very happy. She [Kan] can do a lot of different things, she does everything nicely and when she gets older and a little bit more strong I’m sure that will all come together,” said Stosur.
I’m very, very happy. She [Kan] can do a lot of different things, she does everything nicely and when she gets older and a little bit more strong I’m sure that will all come together
“We’re still in it, so we have a chance to win it,” she added of the Fed Cup.
Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua sealed a clean sweep of the Russians with an emphatic 6-1, 6-3 doubles win over Irina Khromacheva and Valeria Solovyeva.
Dellacqua said she and Barty had both had a “great week”.
“We are going to play a lot together. Last year she was only a baby, but she’s 18 soon, she’s becoming an adult and we’re going to play a lot together and hopefully continue to improve on what we did last year.”
Australia last made the Fed Cup semi finals in 1993, and they haven’t beaten Russia since 1983.