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US Open Aussie Watch: Stosur to take on Dementieva; Juniors in action

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Sam Stosur, the No.5 seed, will take on No.12 seed Elena Dementieva in the fourth round of the US Open tomorrow morning, AEST. Stosur has defeated the elegant Russian just once in six meetings, in Paris last year as she stormed to the final of the French Open. Dementieva turned the tables on hard court in Toronto last year, overcoming Stosur in three hard-fought sets.

When asked her thoughts on the upcoming match Stosur said, "Well, I think it's not a bad one. We've had some good matches in the past. I've beaten her once or twice, and then she's obviously beaten me, as well. So I think it's going to be whoever can, you know, execute the game plan better on the given day. But I know what I'm going to want to do against her. If I can do that, I think I have a chance."

The stars of the future also take to the courts today for the US Open Junior Championships. Bernard Tomic lifted the trophy in New York last year, and No.6 seed Jason Kubler (Qld), No.9 seed James Duckworth (NSW) and Ben Wagland (NSW) will all have their eye on the prize.

Seventeen-year-old Kubler was the top ranked junior earlier this year after winning a string of titles throughout Asia, and the prestigious Astrid Bowl in Belgium. He has since turned his focus to the Pro Tour, lifting his professional ranking to 703 after semis appearances in two Futures events in Italy in the past few weeks.

Kubler will meet American Evan King, who could be a much tougher opponent than his junior ranking of 848 indicates. Like Kubler, the 18-year-old has been concentrating on his transition to the senior ranks, working on qualifying for Futures events throughout the USA.

Duckworth, the No.9 seed, has had some stellar junior results in 2010, reaching the semifinals of the French Open Juniors, quarterfinal of the Australian Open Juniors, the final of the Astrid Bowl in Belgium, and winning ITF events in Malaysia and the Philippines. He is up against Jannick Lupescu from the Netherlands. Lupescu reached the semis in two Grade 1 events -Traralgon and France, and is ranked No.38 in world juniors.

Ben Wagland's best junior results in 2010 include semifinals of a Grade 1 ITF in the Philippines and a tournament win in Auckland. Wagland has a tough assignment against No.13 seed Victor Baluda from Russia. Baluda won a Grade 1 ITF in Croatia, was finalist at the Citta di Sante Croce in Italy, and a semifinalist at the recent Youth Olympic Games in Singapore.

Kubler and Duckworth are both members of the AIS Pro Tour program, and currently working with Ben Mathias.

Aussie watch - day seven

Women's singles - fourth round

[5] Samantha Stosur v [12] Elena Dementieva (RUS): second night match on Arthur Ashe Stadium