Stosur bundled out by Pliskova at Australian Open

Despite failing to impress at warm-up tournaments in Sydney and Brisbane, Stosur was expected to lead the Australian contingent at Melbourne Park, but the 2011 US Open champion was instead beaten 6-4 7-6 (8-6) in one hour and 43 minutes on Monday.

Playing at her home grand slam, where she has never progressed beyond the fourth round, Stosur looked out of sorts against her 114th-ranked Czech opponent.

Stosur did manage to save two match points in a tie-break, having rallied in the second set.

But Pliskova, who had only ever won three of her previous 21 matches against top-50 opponents, was not to be denied as she made it beyond the first round at the Australian Open for just the second time in her career.