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Australia's Sam Stosur beats Safarova in 1st round marathon match at Sydney International

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Australia's Samantha Stosur plays a shot to Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic in their match at the Sydney International tennis tournament in Sydney, Monday, Jan. 12, 2015. Stosur won the match 7-6, 5-7, 6-3. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft) (The Associated Press)

Australia's Samantha Stosur celebrates her win over Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic in their match at the Sydney International tennis tournament in Sydney, Monday, Jan. 12, 2015. Stosur won the match 7-6, 5-7, 6-3. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft) (The Associated Press)

Australia's Samantha Stosur overcame her home-crowd jitters to rally for a 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-3 win over Lucie Safarova in the first round of the Sydney International on Monday.

Stosur has long struggled to match her other Grand Slam results — including a win at the 2011 U.S. Open — at her home major, the Australian Open, as well as other tournaments Down Under.

Last week, she fell to American Varvara Lepchenko 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 in the first round of the Brisbane International after leading 5-1 in the third set. She has also lost four times in the first round at Sydney and had a mediocre 7-7 record at the tournament before Monday's three-hour victory.