BAD GASTEIN, Austria — Samantha Stosur made hard work of a 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 win over Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia in the opening round of the Gastein Ladies on Tuesday.
The 23rd-ranked Australian, who is seeded second, dropped her opening service game but reeled off four straight games from 2-4 down. Sevastova broke again in the opening game of the second set and held on to take it before Stosur dominated the final set.
Sevastova, who came out of retirement this season, had beaten Stosur in their only previous match — at the China Open in 2010, when Stosur was ranked seventh.