Stosur tops Mladenovic at Citi Open for her 500th match victory
Sam Stosur recorded her 500th career victory Tuesday, moving into the second round of the Citi Open hard-court tournament by beating Kristina Mladenovic 6-2, 6-2.
Stosur is a 31-year-old Australian who won the 2011 U.S. Open. She is the seventh active woman with at least 500 match wins -- across all levels, including at ITF, WTA, Grand Slam events, main draw and qualifying -- and at least one Grand Slam singles title.
"Guess it proves how old I am," Stosur said after ending Tuesday's match by serving it out at love, closing with an ace at 116 mph (187 kph).
To mark the occasion, the second-seeded Stosur was presented on court with a white-frosted cake, decorated with a yellow tennis ball and the words, "Congratulations on your 500th."
Stosur's career singles record is 500-336, a .598 winning percentage.
Asked whether one of those victories stands out from the others, Stosur scratched her head and joked: "Maybe the U.S. Open final?"
She beat Serena Williams in the title match at Flushing Meadows four years ago.
When Stosur was asked what milestone she's thinking about next, she replied, "Let's go for 501 tomorrow." She will face Irina Falconi of the United States in the second round.
Minutes after the match ended, Mladenovic cried while she sat on the ground and leaned against a glass door across the way from the players' lounge.
In other women's action Tuesday, Christina McHale knocked off No. 7 seed CoCo Vandeweghe 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 in an all-American matchup. Vandeweghe is ranked 33rd; McHale is 62nd. Top-seeded Ekaterina Makarova beat French Open quarterfinalist Alison Van Uytvanck 7-5, 7-5.
Vandeweghe, a niece of former NBA player and executive Kiki Vandeweghe, was appearing in her first tournament since pushing five-time major champion Maria Sharapova to three sets in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon.
Vandeweghe entered the field in Washington last week via a wild card, replacing former No. 1 Victoria Azarenka, who pulled out of the U.S. Open tuneup because of an injured right shoulder.
In men's play, Steve Johnson beat Lukas Lacko 7-5, 6-3, while 2006 Australian Open runner-up Marcos Baghdatis withdrew because of a groin injury.
Reigning U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic and the man he beat in the final at New York last year, Kei Nishikori, were both scheduled to play Tuesday night.
