Sam Stosur delighted two Aussie women reach third round

Although Sam Stosur is disappointed she is out of Wimbledon, she is delighted two Australian women have reached the third round.

Sam Stosur at the Australian Open. Picture: Mark Stewart.

Although Sam Stosur is disappointed her Wimbledon campaign ended in disappointing fashion last night, she is delighted two Australian women have reached the third round.

And she is hopeful her Fed Cup teammates Ash Barty and Daria Gavrilova can continue their run as they seek to make the last 16 at Wimbledon for the first time.

Barty showed significant grit to match her grass court nous when ousting former Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard 6-4 7-5 and will now play 14th seed Daria Kasatkina.

Gavrilova, who seized control of her clash against Stosur midway through the first set en route to a 6-4 6-1 success, will play Aliaksandra Sasnovich.

Stosur, who is Australia’s most successful woman in almost four decades, praised Gavriolva for her strong focus during their match.

She said the Melbourne resident showed an ability to adapt during the match and demonstrated she can play with aplomb on grass, her least preferred surface.

And the 2011 US Open winner is confident that Barty is capable of continuing a fine grass court season in a year where she has won more matches on the surface than any other woman.

“I think Ash, she loves playing on grass and she openly says it is her favourite surface,” she said.

“If there is ever a place where she feels completely comfortable on a court, it is here. I think she can do very well.”

Gavrilova has reached the last 16 twice at Melbourne Park but this is her best performance on grass.

“It feels pretty good, especially with the way I have been playing, not having (dramatic) matches is pretty nice. It doesn’t happen too often,” she said.

“I am happy with the way I came in (to the net) today a few times and the way I have been hitting my volleys, so I am pretty excited.

“I feel like I have been taking my chances and really switched on from the get go, playing tough points and I have been pretty disciplined.”

Barty was happy with the way she responded against Bouchard, who issued a strong challenge and showed enough signs to suggest her stint in decline may not be for too much longer.

“I played a really poor service game to get broken (in the second set) but I did well to get out of that game at 5-2 and then played a really solid game and locked down on my returns much better and gave myself a chance,” she said.

“Once you are serving for a set and you don’t quite get it, the nerves come and I knew that all I had to do was continue to play well, hit my spots on serve and then try to bring in my variety as much as possible.”

The 17th seed is a former junior champion at the All England Club. She feels her mental approach has improved significantly and is hopeful that will stand her in good stead against Kasatkina.

“I am just excited to be in the third round for the first time,” she said.

“I am excited to be getting towards the business end, but we are only a couple of matches in, so there is a long way to go.”