Japanese teen stuns Stosur in Bank of the West

Samantha Stosur lost to Naomi Osaka, a 16-year-old
qualifier from Japan, in the first round of the Bank
of the West Classic at Stanford. 2013 photo
by Paul Bauman

   Samantha Stosur's tailspin in the Bank of the West Classic continued Monday.
   The 2011 U.S. Open champion lost to Naomi Osaka, a 16-year-old qualifier from Japan playing in her first main-draw match on the WTA tour, 4-6, 7-6 (7), 7-5 in the first round at Stanford's Taube Family Tennis Stadium.
   Stosur, ranked one spot out of the seedings at No. 19 in the world, held a match point at 7-6 in the tiebreaker and led 5-3 in the third set.
   The 30-year-old Australian has not won a match in the Bank of the West Classic since reaching the semifinals for the second straight year in 2010. She lost in the second round to Sabine Lisicki in 2011 and to Olga Govortsova last year after drawing first-round byes and did not play in 2012.
   Meanwhile, Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic dispatched 43-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm of Japan 6-1, 6-3 to set up a meeting with top-ranked Serena Williams on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Williams had a bye in the first round.
   CoCo Vandeweghe, the runner-up in the Bank of the West to Williams as a lucky loser two years ago, topped wild card Kristie Ahn 6-2, 7-5. Ahn graduated from Stanford last month.
   Osaka and Vandeweghe will play seeded Germans in the second round. Osaka will face No. 8 Andrea Petkovic, and Vandeweghe will meet No. 3 Angelique Kerber.
   Sixth-seeded Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia will open the defense of her Bank of the West title against rising star Garbine Muguruza, 20, today not before 1 p.m.  
   Muguruza, a 6-foot (1.82-meter) Venezuela native who plays for Spain, upset Williams in the second round of the French Open this year en route to the quarterfinals.
   Following the Cibulkova-Muguruza match, No. 5 seed and 2008 French Open champion Ana Ivanovic of Serbia will take on 2013 Wimbledon runner-up Sabine Lisicki of Germany.
   In tonight's featured match at 7, seven-time Grand Slam singles champion Venus Williams will play qualifier Paula Kania of Poland.
   Williams won the Bank of the West title in 2000 and 2002. Now 34, she will appear in the tournament for the first time since losing to Marion Bartoli in the 2009 final.

BANK OF THE WEST CLASSIC

At Stanford

First-round singles

   Karolina Pliskova, Czech Republic, def. Kimiko Date-Krumm, Japan, 6-1, 6-3.
   Naomi Osaka, Japan, def. Samantha Stosur, Australia, 4-6, 7-6 (7), 7-5.
   Varvara Lepchenko, United States, def. Caroline Garcia, France, 6-4, 6-3.
   Sachia Vickery, United States, vs. Shuai Zhang, China, 6-1, 6-2.
   Andrea Petkovic (8), Germany, def. Ajla Tomljanovic, Croatia, 6-1, 6-4.
   CoCo Vandeweghe, United States, def. Kristie Ahn, United States, 6-2, 7-5.

First-round doubles

   Garbine Muguruza, Spain and Carla Suarez Navarro (3), Spain, def. Eva Hrdinova, Czech Republic, and Andreja Klepac, Slovenia, 6-4, 6-2.
   Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, Croatia, and Karolina Pliskova, Czech Republic, def. Darija Jurak, Croatia, and Megan Moulton-Levy, United States, 4-6, 6-4 [10-7].
   Alla Kudryavtseva, Russia, and Anastasia Rodionova (2), Australia, def. Paula Ormaechea, Argentina, and Aleksandra Wozniak, Canada, walkover.

Today's schedule

Stadium

(Starting at 11 a.m.)

   Yanina Wickmayer, Belgium, vs. Carol Zhao, Canada.

(Not before 1 p.m.)

   Dominika Cibulkova (6), Slovakia, vs. Garbine Muguruza, Spain.
   Ana Ivanovic (5), Serbia, vs. Sabine Lisicki, Germany.

(Not before 7 p.m.)

   Venus Williams, United States, vs. Paula Kania, Poland.
   Daniela Hantuchova, Slovakia, vs. Paula Ormaechea, Argentina.

Court 6

(Starting at 11 a.m.)

   Carla Suarez Navarro (7), Spain, vs. Monica Puig, Puerto Rico.

(Not before 12:30 p.m.)

   Varvara Lepchenko, United States,and Ajla Tomljanovic, Croatia, vs. Mari Osaka, Japan, and Marina Shamayko, Russia.

(Not before 2 p.m.) 

   Caroline Garcia, France, and Shuai Zhang, China, vs. Kristie Ahn, United States, and Carol Zhao, Canada.

   Alla Kudryavtseva, Russia, and Anastasia Rodionova (2), Australia, vs. Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, Croatia, and Karolina Pliskova, Czech Republic.