World number seven Samantha Stosur of Australia overwhelmed the 33rd ranked Spaniard, Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez in the opening round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix played at the Porsche Tennis Arena at Stuttgart, Germany. To step into the second round of the $721,000 WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) tournament, the fifth seed Australian took 80 minutes to wrap up her straight sets triumph at 7-5, 6-1.

Stosur tended to put forth pressure upon her adversary early and she ignited the contest with her typical belligerence. She opened her shoulders on both wings and securing the opening set appeared to fill Stosur with confidence. She was able to read Martinez Sanchez’s intentions at will and winners flew off both the backhand and forehand side.

Last year at Stuttgart, the runner-up Stosur registered her fourth successive triumph over the Spanish rival. During the last year, the Aussie overwhelmed Sanchez three times and now leads the all time head-to-head record against her by 4-1. In the opening set of the contest, Stosur had some difficulties as she took time to get her eye in the game. In the second set, Stosur blew away the Spaniard to seal win for himself.

Last year, with triumph over Henin at Roland Garros, Stosur took revenge her Stuttgart final defeat before beating top seed Serena Williams and fourth seed Jelena Jankovic on the way to the final.

Stosur in the second round will meet Slovakia’s Daniela Hantuchova. The Australian defeated Romanian Alexandra Dulgheru 7-5 6-3.

The internet sports picks are offering great tennis odds. Stosur is favorite to go into the next round. The tennis betting odds for Stosur are 4/9 and Hantuchova are 2.

Jelena Jankovic · Porsche Tennis · Samantha Stosur · Serena Williams · WTA

The world’s top men and women gather to compete in Miami for the Sony Ericsson Open, which will be one of the hottest non Grand Slam tournaments of 2011. The event will immediately be played after BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California and Scheduled to begin on March 21. Because of two consecutive major events in North America, that’s why March has always been an important month on the Calendar.

Tennis Odds for this event have not yet been posted in various sports betting sites.

About the Sony Ericsson Open, the preceding event at Indian Wells has traditionally provided good insight. It is early to pick favorites for Miami’s tournament however, since Indian Wells has yet to be played. For the hard court tournaments in North America, the recent events in Asia and South America provide the most accurate predictions.

In late February, the number three player in the world Vera Zvonareva defeated the world’s No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki in Doha, Qatar. With seeds corresponding to their current world rankings, it’s most likely that both of them will enter the Sony Ericsson draw.

As the second seed, defending Champion Kim Clijsters comes into Crandon Park. In the final, last year, she overpowered Venus Williams 6-2 6-1. This year, the runner up will make a comeback, as the sixth seed.

Several other less known players who are coming off hot streaks in late February are to watch out for. While at the same time Anastasia Pavluchenkova raised the trophy in Monterey, Mexico, Gisela Dulko claimed the title in Acapulco, Mexico. Jelena Dokic won the event in Malaysia. If Dokic will even play, unless she competes at the qualifying rounds, though it is uncertain.

Even though Victoria Azarenka had a poor February, losing early in Dubai and Doha, the 2009 Champion comes into Miami as the ninth seed. Samantha Stosur, Francesca Schiavone, Li Na, and Jelena Jankovic are the other top ten seeds, who are possible “dark horses” which can be unpredictable at big events.

BNP Paribas · Jelena Jankovic · Kim Clijsters · Sony Ericsson Open · sports betting