News & Photos
Day 3 - (9) Samantha Stosur (AUS) v Zheng Jie (CHN)
Head-to-head
| Stosur leads the head to head 3-2, with all three wins coming on hard court, which will give her some confidence coming into this second-round match. | Stosur may lead the head to head but it was Zheng who won their most recent encounter in Sydney last week. |
Will win if...
| She can harness her nervous energy and channel it into her serve. Stosur’s serve is one of the true weapons in tennis, she wasn’t happy with it in the first round and will be looking for improvement against Zheng. | She can make Stosur doubt her game. Zheng must make Stosur play the extra ball and hopefully draw the error from the Australian. Should Zheng get an early break Stosur may just start to question herself, which will set the world No.40 on the road to an upset. |
Heading in...
| Stosur has been anything but convincing in 2013. First-round exits in Brisbane and Sydney came after an interrupted pre-season and ankle surgery. On the plus side, Stosur found a way to win in the first round when she wasn’t playing her best and any win’s a good win for Sam at the moment. | Zheng’s only “W” in 2013 was her unlikely win over Stosur in Sydney. In the second round she was bundled out 6-0 6-4 by qualifier Madison Keys. The week before that 70th-ranked American Jamie Hampton knocked out Zheng in the first round of Auckland. |
Look out for...
| The Stosur one-two punch – a nasty kick serve followed by a raking forehand. When Sam plays her best it’s this combination that does the majority of the damage. | Zheng’s court coverage. She may only stand 5’ 4” (164 cm) but her ability to chase down a ball is similar to that of renowned retrievers Caroline Wozniacki and Agnieszka Radwanska. |
Know this stat
| .Sam Stosur is 54-0 in Grand Slams when she wins the first set. Should Slammin’ Sam take the first, Zheng will be swimming against the current to win. | .Zheng was a semifinalist here in 2010 when she accounted for Peng, Martinez Sanchez, Bartoli, Bondarenko and Kirilenko. It took Justine Henin to end her tournament. |
X-factor
| Sam Stosur is 54-0 in Grand Slams when she wins the first set. Should Slammin’ Sam take the first, Zheng will be swimming against the current to win | Attack. Zheng’s offense, while not as renowned as her defense, is still potent. Should she come out in an attacking frame of mind, Stosur will need to be on her toes |