Stosur to take match to Gavrilova
Samantha Stosur knows she must take the match to Daria Gavrilova to survive their all-Australian showdown and venture to the Wimbledon third round for only the third time in 15 attempts.
The Fed Cup teammates are clashing for the fourth time this year, with Stosur taking honours in the past two matches on clay in Prague and Paris.
Gavrilova beat the former US Open champion on a hard court in Sydney, but Thursday's meeting will be the pair's first on grass.
"It's going to be a different match-up," Stosur said.
"It's more just trying to be aggressive, worry about my own tennis.
"Everyone can feel uncomfortable on this surface at certain times and I think sometimes as a player you get so focused on your little end of the court you kind of lose sight of what lots of people are feeling at the same time as well.
"It's more: stick to your guns, this is what you can do well, and that's what I'm going to try and do."
Stosur plans on playing Gavrilova on her terms, hoping to prosper with her big serve-forward one-two punch.
"Against Dash, no matter when you play, you've got to be up for every point. She fights incredibly well, moves very well," said the unseeded veteran.
"She's tenacious, she'll not give you much at certain times and then she can play aggressive.
"But her defensive skills are also very good - some of the best in the world.
"You've got to be prepared to really fight hard. Sometimes Dasha can make you feel uncomfortable."
Gavrilova is also hoping to improve on her unflattering Wimbledon record, having progressed beyond round two only once before.
But the 26th seed knows Stosur will be much more of a challenge than her lowly world ranking of 86th suggests.
"Every time we've played, we've had tough matches. I can't expect any less," she said.
The winner will face either unseeded American Taylor Townsend or Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich with a huge opportunity to make the second week.