Stosur upsets Kerber, Strycova beats Konta in Brisbane

Sam Stosur won 2011 U.S. Open and reached final of French Open in 2010 but has never been beyond second round at Brisbane International, an event close to home. As a wild-card entry in her 10th appearance at tournament, Stosur upset three-time major champion Angelique Kerber 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4) on Monday to reach second round. She hasn't won her opening match in Brisbane since 2016.

“That was a great match for me,” 35-year-old Stosur said. “It's great to get a win and start year like this.”

Stosur was up a break in first set before Kerber rallied and got within two points of clinching it, racing to a 5-1 le in tiebreaker. On a stium court — main arena is reserved for ATP Cup, which is running concurrently in Brisbane until Wednesday — Stosur won next six points.

re were breaks of serve in second set, and Stosur controlled tiebreaker this time. win ended a run of four losses to former . 1-ranked Kerber and improved her record to 6-4 in ir he-to-he meetings.

Barbora Strycova beat seventh-seeded Johanna Konta 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 and Americans Alison Riske and Sofia Kenin opened with wins. Riske beat Karolina Muchova 6-4, 6-2 and Kenin beat Anastasija Sevastova 7-6 (1), 6-4.

Top-ranked Ash Barty and second-seeded Karolina Pliskova h first-round byes.