Samantha Stosur gained a semblance of revenge for her shock Australian Open elimination, defeating Sorana Cirstea in the second round of the Qatar Open.
The Australian advanced with a tight 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) victory in a reversal of her shattering straight sets exit to the Romanian in the first round at Melbourne Park.
Cirstea had eliminated another Australian Jarmila Gajdosova in straight sets in the opening round.
Caroline Wozniacki - playing her first match since losing her world number one ranking - crashed out, squandering three match points in a 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) defeat to Lucie Safarova.
There was also misery for defending champion Vera Zvonareva who quit with a hip injury midway through her second-round match against Romania's Monica Niculescu.
Czech left-hander Safarova saved three match points in the third set and played a superb tie-breaker to set up a third-round clash with Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, who defeated compatriot Maria Kirilenko 6-4, 6-4.
Wozniacki, seeded two but now ranked at four in the world, was deposed from the world top spot when she was knocked out of the Australian Open quarter-finals.
"I just want to get out of here (the media conference room). You don't want to stay when you lose a match like that," said Wozniacki.
"It's really disappointing but you have to move on," added the Dane, who was runner up twice in Doha - in the 2010 season-ending championships and last year's Qatar Open.
Safarova, who is 2-1 in career clashes with Wozniacki, said: "Unless you win the final point, the match is not over.
"I just wanted to keep fighting. It feels absolutely amazing," added the 25-year-old, who has won four titles on the WTA Tour.
There were no such problems, however, for newly-crowned world number one and Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka who cruised into the third round, beating Germany's Mona Barthel 6-1, 6-0.
The Belarussian top seed will take on Romania's Simona Halep.
Earlier, fourth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland thrashed Britain's Anne Keothavong 6-1, 6-2, while French fifth seed Marion Bartoli also had it easy, beating Spaniard Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-2, 6-0.
Serb eighth seed Jelena Jankovic fell to Israeli Shahar Peer 7-6 (7-4), 6-2, while compatriot Ana Ivanovic also bowed out, losing 6-4, 6-4 to the Czech Republic's Petra Cetkovska.
AFP
Tags: tennis, sport, australia, qatar First posted February 16, 2012 08:55:06
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