Stosur upsets Kerber, Strycova beats Konta in Brisbane

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Sam Stosur won the 2011 U.S. Open and reached the final of the French Open in 2010 but has never been beyond the second round at the Brisbane International, an event close to home.

As a wild-card entry in her 10th appearance at the tournament, Stosur upset three-time major champion Angelique Kerber 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4) on Monday to reach the second round. She hasn’t won her opening match in Brisbane since 2016.

“That was a great match for me,” the 35-year-old Stosur said. “It’s great to get a win and start the year like this.”

Stosur was up a break in the first set before Kerber rallied and got within two points of clinching it, racing to a 5-1 lead in the tiebreaker. On a stadium court — the main arena is reserved for the ATP Cup, which is running concurrently in Brisbane until Wednesday — Stosur won the next six points.

There were no breaks of serve in the second set, and Stosur controlled the tiebreaker this time. The win ended a run of four losses to former No. 1-ranked Kerber and improved her record to 6-4 in their head-to-head meetings.

Barbora Strycova beat seventh-seeded Johanna Konta 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 and Americans Alison Riske and Sofia Kenin opened with wins. Riske beat Karolina Muchova 6-4, 6-2 and Kenin beat Anastasija Sevastova 7-6 (1), 6-4.

Top-ranked Ash Barty and second-seeded Karolina Pliskova had first-round byes.