04/02/2011 21:08 CEST - Rassegna internazionale

Fed Cup, la sfida della Stosur (Herald Sun)

Game on for Sam

Sam Stosur is ready to carry a monster load if asked to play both singles and doubles in Australia’s Fed Cup showdown with two-time defending champion Italy in Hobart. For Australia’s long awaited return to the elite eight-nation World Group for the first time since 2004 to extend beyond this weekend, Stosur may well need to pick up all three points in the best-of-five-match tie.

That is a tall order given the world No.5 faces her career nemesis Flavia Pennetta in today’s second singles match before backing up against her French Open final conqueror Francesca Schiavone in tomorrow’s first reverse singles rubber.

Australian captain David Taylor has named dual Commonwealth Games gold medallist Anastasia Rodionova to partner veteran Rennae Stubbs in tomorrow’s potentially decisive doubles rubber, but won’t rule out sending an SOS for his star charge.

‘ ‘ Look, Sam’s won a couple of grand slams, obviously, in doubles and been No.1 in the world, too,’’ Taylor said. ‘ ‘ We’ve picked that doubles team thinking Sam might be a bit fatigued... but it will be based on the level of Sam’s fatigue.’’

Stosur has not played doubles since Wimbledon last July but vowed to step up if the tie was deadlocked at 2-2 tomorrow afternoon. ‘‘If they want me to play, then I ’ll be more than happy to do that,’’ she said.

In the meantime, Stosur will have her hands full against Pennetta, a rival the Queenslander has yet to win a set against in three career encounters.

‘‘I have struggled against her,’’ Stosur admitted. ‘‘She can handle my pace very well. She doesn’t have a huge weapon but she does everything extremely well and she’s very consistent.

‘‘So it’s definitely a tough match-up. But if I can play well and learn something from all those losses that I’ve had against her, hopefully I can turn it into a win’’ (…)