Sam Stosur
Samantha Stosur of Australia hits a return against Coco Vandeweghe of the U.S. during their women's singles second round match at the Australian Open 2015 tennis tournament in Melbourne January 22, 2015. REUTERS/Issei Kato REUTERS/Issei Kato

Australia suffered a 4-1 first round loss to Germany for the second straight year at the 2015 Fed Cup held in Stuttgart on Feb. 8. The loss forces Australia into a playoff, which takes place in April, for a spot in the tournament in 2016.

Australian No. 2 Jamila Gajdosova, who ranks 54th in the world, led Australia with a 1-0 advantage by upsetting top 10 player Angelique Kerber on the first day. Australian No. 1 Sam Stosur, who entered the competition looking confident because of the solid lineup of players, had a chance to double Australia’s lead with a match point but ultimately handed the victory, 12-10, to Andrea Petkovic in a three-hour-and-16-minute-long match.

Stosur and Kerber played for the singles rubber match next. Stosur got off with a poor start in the first set as the German went on to claim the victory, 6-2. In the second game, Stosur managed to save a break in the third game of the second set. She went on with a forehand drop shot to win the game. However, the 25-year-old German still proved to be the better player.

Gajdosova was looking to score another win against counterpart Petkovic as she battered the German with forehands and serves to win the first set. Petkovic fought back in the second set and eventually took home the victory after breaking Gajdosova twice in the third set. In the dead doubles rubber, Casey Dellacqua and Olivia Rogowska were defeated by Sabine LIsicki and Julia Georges.

Despite the loss, Australian captain Alicia Molik is happy with her team’s performance at the 2015 Fed Cup. She said that she is proud of the fight that her team has put up in Stuttgart. According to Molik, the Aussie team should be given “credit” for continuing to fight until the end. Molik is confident that the team will be able to regroup and get ready for the playoff match in April.

Australia is a seven-time Fed Cup champion and holds a record of 8-5 against the Germans, who won in their last two meetings, in the competition. The Germans finished as runners-up last year. They will take on the Russians, spearheaded by Maria Sharapova, in the next tie, from April 18 to 19, 2015.

WORLD GROUP FIRST ROUND MATCH GERMANY VS. AUSTRALIA

Gajdosova (winner) vs. Kerber - 4-6 6-2 6-4

Stosur vs. Petkovic (winner) - 4-6 6-3 10-12

Stosur vs. Kerber (winner) - 2-6 4-6

Gajdosova vs. Petkovic (winner) - 3-6 6-3 6-8

Dellacqua/Rogowska vs. Georges/Lisicki - 7-6(2) 6-7(7) 6-10

WORLD GROUP FIRST ROUND RESULTS

Czech Republic 4 vs. Canada 0

France 3 vs. Italy 2

Russia 4 vs. Poland 0

Germany 4 vs. Australia 1

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