Top seed Samantha Stosur had her run in Brisbane cut short, having fallen to unseeded Iveta Benesova in straight sets.  The Australian was 4-0 in the series before suffering a 4-6, 2-6 defeat.

“Iveta played quite well, but I probably didn’t do what I set out to do,” Stosur said.

“As the match went on it got harder and harder to try and stop what was happening. Her serve comes in a little bit different angle and she hits her spots quite well. I certainly didn’t feel like I did what I was capable of, but I always want to give credit to an opponent and I think she played very well today.

“Hopefully it was just a bit of a bad day and I’ll bounce back next week and the week after and play a lot better, and keep getting better.”

Former World No. 1 Serena Williams reached the quarterfinal with a 6-2, 6-4 over Bojana Jovanovski.  The American will not continue at the event, however, due to a left ankle injury she sustained during the match.