Samantha Stosur News

Australia will have no excuses if it fails to return to the elite level of Fed Cup tennis competition, says their captain David Taylor.

STRENGTH of will. Sheer determination. Merely two of the typical air-hockey expressions tennis commentators habitually employ to tell us nothing much about tennis.

Stosur heads the Australian line-up which also includes Alicia Molik, Casey Dellacqua and Renae Stubbs.

Australia are pinning their hopes on Samantha Stosur to lead her team to the brink of a Fed Cup World Group berth with victory over Spain this weekend.

China's Li Na hits a return against Venus Williams of the U.S. during their quarter-final match at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne January 27, 2010.

Here are my predictions for the women's quarterfinals at the Australian Open this year.

Broad shoulders and muscular arms are not the keys to Serena Williams power. " Williams is more like a baseballer: her drive comes from those powerful legs and buttocks.

Australia Day, they called it, and fittingly it was marked with both celebration and regret.

Two women who have never been past the quarter-finals of a grand slam stand in the way of an all-Williams Australian Open semi-final. Venus and Serena Williams will each be looking to qualify for their 18th grand slam semi-final when they play their quarter-finals on Wednesday.

Belarussian Victoria Azarenka has mounted a remarkable comeback to book the last spot in the Australian Open quarter-finals. The 20-year-old seventh seed came from a set and 4-2 down to defeat Russia's Vera Zvonareva 4-6 6-4 6-0 in a match that lasted two hours and 28 minutes and ended after midnight.

AS NASTY as it seemed, Serena Williams's threat to shove the ball down the throat of a lineswoman in New York was hollow.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010 MELBOURNE: Serena Williams took inspiration from Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre as she reached the Australian Open quarter-finals with a crushing win over Australia's Samantha Stosur on Monday.

THE Australian Open, with its record crowds, record prizemoney and record number of female players photographed patting marsupials, is an undisputed success story.

A record half-million Australians skipped work on Monday - known colloquially as ''chucking a sickie'' - to give themselves a four-day weekend with their national day falling on Tuesday.

Defending champion Serena Williams warned her rivals she can get even better despite playing brilliant tennis to crush Samantha Stosur 6-4, 6-2 in the fourth round of the Australian Open yesterday.

It was the most significant Australian Open match involving one of the nation's women this year and half of the country did not get to see it play out.

The difference between a good player and a champion is stress management, says tennis great Billie Jean King.

Venus Williams strode into the Australian Open quarter-finals Monday where she will meet Li Na who ensured China has two players in the last eight of a Grand Slam for the first time.

Andy Roddick demonstrates his power on Rod Laver Arena during his battle against Chile's Fernando Gonzalez.

Lleyton Hewitt, Samantha Stosur and Casey Dellacqua will be out to keep the nation's flag flying when they continue their Australian Open campaign on Thursday.