Fifth seed Sam Stosur defeated at Wimbledon

A miserable Wimbledon for Australia was complete today when fifth seed Sam Stosur became the biggest casualty so far at this year's Championships.

For the first time since 1938, no Australian men made it through to the second round at the All England Club, while only Stosur was successful among the women in clearing the first hurdle.

The 28-year-old has never been beyond the third round here but she was still a big favourite to beat Holland's Arantxa Rus, no stranger to upsets having knocked out Kim Clijsters at the French Open last year.

Stosur looked to have recovered from a poor start when she breezed through the second set without losing a game, but she then dropped 5-2 behind in the decider.

Rus had a bit of trouble crossing the finish line but there was to be no comeback for Stosur, who eventually lost 6-2 0-6 6-4 after saving match points.

PA