Sam Stosur was gift-wrapped a place in the third round of the Madrid Open on Tuesday after Lucie Safarova withdrew due to a stomach bug.
Stosur will now play local favourite Carla Suarez Navarro for a spot in the quarter-finals on Wednesday after the Spanish world No.11 beat Germany’s Sabine Lisicki 6-3 6-2.
The pair have met six times and each boast three victories with Suarez Navarro winning three of the last four including a three-set success in Brisbane in January.
However, she’s expecting a testing encounter against the Queenslander who will be boosted by an extra day of rest when they meet on Wednesday..
“She knows what it is to compete at the maximum level and how to compete here in Madrid,” Suarez Navarro said,
“She knows me, so I think that it’s going to be a match where I have to give my 100 per cent.
“I will have to rest good. Let’s see if I can recover and feel better. Let’s see if I’m prepared to play tomorrow.”
Sixth-seeded Romanian Simona Halep routed Karin Knapp of Italy 6-1 6-1.
Australia’s Daria Gavrilova is also in action on Wednesday against former two-time Wimbledon champion and world No.6 Petra Kvitova.