Stosur disappoints in China

Samantha Stosur’s hopes of contesting the rich WTA Tour Championships remain on hold after Russian Maria Kirilenko exacted more revenge on her at the China Open.

Stosur has a gloomy 1-2 win-loss record since downing Serena Williams to claim her career-defining maiden grand slam title at the US Open in New York last month.

And world No.24 Kirilenko can take the credit for that after beating the Australian world No.7 6-2 4-6 6-4 in Tokyo last week and 7-5 1-6 7-5 in another tough encounter in Beijing on Wednesday (AEDT).

Those wins were sweet for the Russian following the pair’s thrilling encounter in the US Open fourth round where Stosur prevailed 6-2 7-6 6-3 after taking the marathon second set tie-breaker 15-13.

That confidence-boosting result helped springboard Stosur to the slam title so there’s not much chance she’d swap wins with the Russian.

But while she’s comfortably placed, Stosur is still not quite guaranteed a spot in the eight-woman field for the Tour Championships in Istanbul starting in just under three weeks where $US5 million will be up for grabs.

Stosur is seventh in the race to Istanbul and holds a handy lead over Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli, with ninth-placed pursuer Andrea Petkovic quite a way back.

The Australian wants to lock it up at the Japan Open in Osaka next week when she can join Caroline Wozniacki, Maria Sharapova, Perta Kvitova and Victoria Azarenka as confirmed starters in Turkey.