Hobart exit leaves Sam Stosur underdone for Australian Open

Sam Stosur will head into the Australian Open with just a solitary summer win under her belt.

Sam Stosur plays a backhand during her first-round singles defeat to Veronika Kudermetova at the Hobart International. Picture: Getty Images

Sam Stosur will head into the Australian Open with just a solitary summer win under her belt after being ousted in the opening round of the Hobart International.

The Aussie veteran went down 6-2 6-2 to Russian youngster Veronika Kudermetova on Monday evening in just 64 minutes.

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The 22-year-old Kudermetova, who cracked the top 40 for the first time last year, broke Stosur twice in both sets.

It was a disappointing exit for the 35-year-old world No 97, who had an opening-round success against former world No 1 Angelique Kerber in Brisbane last week. She described it as probably her best ever win in the Queensland capital.

Stosur will turn her attention to Melbourne Park where she hasn’t won an opening-round match in her past four tournaments.

It was also a tough day in Hobart for another Australian, Astra Sharma, who had a gruelling 6-3 3-6 7-6 (8-6) loss to American Lauren Davis.

Sharma had a match point in the deciding third-set tiebreak in a match that swung wildly over two-and-a-half hours.

Hobart top seed Elise Mertens and two-times grand slam winner Garbine Muguruza will begin their campaigns on Tuesday.

AAP