Sam Stosur’s nightmare home Fed Cup tie has ended in defeat for herself and her country, with the United States taking an unassailable 3-0 lead in their clash at Brisbane’s Pat Rafter Arena.
The substitution of Coco Vandeweghe for the US team’s No. 1 Madison Keys went to plan as the world No. 36 rallied to beat Stosur, ranked 10 places higher, 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 in a battle lasting two hours and 18 minutes.
The result puts the US through to the elite, eight-team World Group to vie for the Fed Cup next year, while Australia will languish in the lower tiers of the competition for 2017.