Upsets Rule the Brisbane International as Verdasco, Stosur and Peer Are Eliminated
January 4, 2011 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
Top-seeded Samamtha Stosur was upset by Australian Jarmila Groth, 6-2, 6-4 and second-seeded Shahar Peer lost to Lucie Safarova 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 in the women’s draw Tuesday at the Brisbane International. Groth broke Stosur’s serve four times and saved three of the four break points she faced. Stosur, the French Open finalist, took a 4-1 lead in the second set, but she struggled with her serve as Groth won five consecutive games to reach the quarterfinals.
On the men’s side, top-seeded Robin Soderling of Sweden finished off a 6-2, 6-4 win over American qualifier Ryan Harrison with an ace, while Marcos Baghdatis rallied from a set down to beat Frenchman Florent Serra, 3-6, 7-5, 6-4. Germany’s Benjamin Becker upset third-seeded Fernando Verdasco, 6-1, 6-7 (2), 6-3, while American Mardy Fish, the number four seed, advanced with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Adrian Mannarin of France.
