Dellacqua took her time settling into the match, losing her first service game before using her strength to win four games in a row to take the first set 6-2.

The second set saw Dellacqua take an early 3-0 lead before Yonemura came back to level the scores at 3-3. Dellacqua then won the next three games to win the set 6-3.

“After my shoulder surgery I am really trying to get as much game experience as possible. It is great to be playing again and I really love playing in Sydney,” Dellacqua said.

Dellacqua will take on sixth seed Ryoko Fuda from Japan in her next match on Thursday.

Second seed Sophie Ferguson (NSW) is also through to the next round defeating Victorian Tiffany Welford 6-2 6-2.
Ferguson took an early lead in both sets and won the match in just over an hour. She will play Japan’s Chiaki Okadaue in the second round.

The Sydney Women’s International runs until March 7th and is run in conjunction with the ‘Women in Sport’ week held at Sydney Olympic Park. The event is free to attend.

Results:
Marija Mirkovic (VIC) d Kumiko Iijima (JPN) 6-4 2-6 6-3
(5) Junri Namigata (JPN) d Ashling Sumner (QLD) 6-3 6-1
Jennifer Elie (USA) d Varatchaya Wongteanchai (THA) 6-1 6-4
Cagla Buyukakcay (TUR) d Jessica Moore (WA) 3-6 6-2 7-5
Casey Dellacqua (WA) d Akiko Yonemura (JPN) 6-2 6-3  (2)
Sophie Ferguson (NSW) d Tiffany Welford (VIC) 6-2 6-2
Erin Liefeld (NSW) d Emelyn Starr (NSW) 6-4 6-3

Mildura, Victoria, Australia
15-22 February 2010
Surface: Grass
Official website: www.tennis.com.au

Dellacqua, the sixth seed, was too strong for Victorian [8] Sally Peers winning the final in straight sets 7-5 6-0.

Teaming with fellow West Australian Jessica Moore, Dellacqua also won the women’s doubles title, defeating Victorians Jarmila Groth and Jade Hopper 6-2 7-6(3).

“It’s been a great week.  My main goal coming here was to get as much tennis as I could and I did that, winning the singles and the doubles,” Dellacqua said.

“It was really tough to hold serve because of the wind and neither of us could really break away.  It was a great first set and I was lucky to get on top of her and finish the match the way I did.

I really enjoyed Mildura; it is a really great town.  The weather was nice and the grass courts were fantastic,” Dellacqua said.

Australia’s top ranked player was brushed aside in the first set of the opening rubber at Memorial Drive by Spanish star Maria-Jose Martinez, losing 6-2.

Stosur’s woes worsened in the opening game of the second, when down three break points.

But that crisis prompted a stunning turnaround as the Australian won that game to start a steamrolling winning streak that resulted in a 2-6 6-1 6-4 triumph.

Stosur admitted the second set’s opening game – after which she won 11 of 16 games – was crunch time.

“Obviously it was a huge change in momentum,” Stosur said.

“If I had lost that game then who knows where the match could have ended up.”

The world no.11 conceded the early advantage to the fast-starting Spaniard, who frequently used deft drop shots to upset the flow of the hard-hitting Australian.

“She had full momentum,” Stosur said.

“Then it started to swing my way and gradually got more and more my way and then I was in full control.

“It is just really pleasing that I was able to turn it around so quickly in that second set … not let myself get down in a hole in that set as well.”

Stosur’s mental toughness, coupled with a rise in first serve potency, enabled the Australian to take control of the contest against the Spanish world no.28.

“I’m very pleased that I was able to get through and get us up to a one-nil head start,” Stosur said.

“But for me personally I have lost the two matches that we have played against each other in the last couple of months, so for me to get over that hurdle and come back from a set down, I’m really pleased with that just for my own sake.”

Spain levelled the tie at 1-1 when Australian Casey Dellacqua fell in straight sets to Anabel Medina.

The Spaniard cruised to a 6-2 6-3 triumph against Dellacqua. The West Australian was frustrated at her inconsistent performance, saying she “showed glimpes of good tennis and a lot of errors”.

“I was in it for a lot of points, I was in it for a lot of games but wasn’t able to close out games and finish points off and maybe got a little bit impatient at times,” Dellacqua said.

“She played really well so I have to give her a bit of credit for playing some pretty good tennis.”

Australian captain David Taylor said he wasn’t locked in to his line-up for Sunday’s reverse singles and the potentially deciding doubles match.

“We’d probably like to have a fresh doubles team available, if it comes down to that,” he said.

Australia has marked Rennae Stubbs and Alicia Molik as its doubles team.

The winner of the tie progresses to a play-off for elevation to the elite World Group, which has not featured Australia since 2003.

The West Australian’s latest achievement was to get the nod ahead of Fed Cup teammate Alicia Molik for the second singles berth at this weekend’s World Group I tie against Spain in Adelaide.

“Obviously I was excited, I’ve always enjoyed playing Fed Cup over the years and it’s great to be a part of it,” Dellacqua told caseydellacqua.com.au.

“It’s good to be with the girls, we’re alone a lot of the year, so it’s nice to be involved in any team environment that you can be [in] and hopefully this weekend we can all play well and have a win.”

Video: Australia v Spain official draw

Video: Casey Dellacqua on Fed Cup

Dellacqua was rewarded with the No.2 slot (behind world No.11 Sam Stosur) after making it to the third round of the Australian Open – an effort that saw her ranking jump from 980 to 276.

“I wasn’t really sure how I would go so it was great to be back, and to have a couple of wins was awesome for me.
“I really haven’t been hitting that many tennis balls for that long, so I was stoked with the Aussie Open and it was a great start for the year for me.”

In December Dellacqua won her way into the Australian Open via the Australian Open Play-off. Since then, first-round losses in both Brisbane and Sydney proved to be minor bumps on the road to the Australian Open.

Following the Fed Cup, the Perth native will play some events in Mildura and Sydney before heading over to the United States for the hardcourt season.

“I’m just wanting to get as many matches as I can so I’m going to play them [Mildura and Sydney] before I head off overseas, probably starting in Miami and then look at where I’m at and hopefully that ranking will keep going up and up and I’ll keep improving.”

Dellacqua still has a protected ranking that she can use at a prescribed number of events, but her goal is to return to the top 100 as soon as possible so she will qualify for the majors automatically.

And with few points to defend from 2009, and a little luck, the road back to the world’s elite 100 may be shorter than first thought.

Dellacqua, who edged out Alicia Molik for the second singles berth, leads their head to head 1-0 and will be looking to repay the faith of captain Taylor and coach Nic Bradtke by extending her lead to 2-0.

“I’m just going to get out there and approach it the way I would any other match,” said Dellacqua shortly after the draw was held on Friday.

Australian No.1 Sam Stosur faces a tricky opening match against Spain’s Maria Jose Martinez.

Martinez-Sanchez has had the wood on Stosur to date, defeating the Queenslander in their two previous meetings.

Stosur, who is coming off a fourth-round appearance at the Australian Open, said she was working with Fed Cup captain and her personal coach, David Taylor, to find some winning touch against Martinez.

“It’s never the ideal record … it’s just a matter of me going out there and executing a game plan correctly,” she told AAP.

“I know it’s going to be tough, but think I’m good enough to beat her, so it’s just going to come down to whatever happens tomorrow.”

Martinez said despite her two wins over the Australian in Bali and at the Hopman Cup in Perth, she will still be hard to beat.

“I think it is going to be difficult because she is number 11 in the world right now,” she told reporters.

“I think I’m playing good right now – it’s going to be a good match.”

Molik and Rennae Stubbs will carry Australia’s hopes in the doubles against Nuria Llagostera and Carla Suarez.

Stosur said the team had been practising together for about three days so far and morale was high ahead of this weekend’s showdown.

“We’re in all this together, we all know we’re going to give it our best shot no matter what happens – win or lose,” she said.

Although she admitted to some trepidation about her match against Martinez, Stosur is determined for Australia to regain its spot in the Fed Cup’s premier World Group.

“If we manage to do it this year that’d be a great achievement and maybe one day we can actually win it,” she said.

“It is close, but Spain’s a good team as well, so we can’t take anything lightly.”

The winner of the tie progresses to a play-off to decide which nation returns to the premier World Group.

The losing nation faces a play-off to remain in World Group II.

Memorial Drive, Adelaide, Australia
6-7 February 2010
Surface: Plexicushion
Official website: www.fedcup.com