Dellacqua out of Hobart International

Casey Dellacqua will shift her focus to the Australian Open after a second-round loss at the Hobart International.

Australian tennis player Casey Dellacqua

Casey Dellacqua will head to the Australian Open with just one singles win for 2015 under her belt. (AAP)

Casey Dellacqua will head to the Australian Open with just one singles win for 2015 under her belt.

The No.1 seed bombed out on Thursday to Italian Karin Knapp in round two at the Hobart International.

But despite her sole and scratchy victory and limited match practice in the southern capital, the world No.29 claims to be as prepared as she can be for her home grand slam.

"I feel ready for the Australian Open and I feel that I'm the best prepared that I can be and that I have done everything that I possibly can," Dellacqua told reporters after her 7-5 2-6 6-3 loss to Knapp.

"Now I just turn my focus onto the Australian Open and doing what I can in the next couple of days to prepare best for that."

Prior to her arrival in Hobart the 29-year old suffered three singles losses at the Hopman Cup in Perth, including against British world No.49 Heather Watson.

But Dellacqua isn't dwelling on her defeats.

"I have no concerns in terms of how I'm hitting the ball and how I'm feeling out there, my body is healthy - I feel good," she said.

After her three-set win over American Lauren Davis in the first round in Hobart on Monday, Dellacqua said she struggled with concentration but insisted on Thursday that her focus is improving.

She will be seeded at Melbourne Park for the first time, and among the Australians is behind only No.20 Samantha Stosur.

In other action on Thursday, American No.8 seed Alison Riske secured a place in the final-four after ousting Serbia's Bojana Jovanovski 6-2 4-6 6-1 and later in the day accounted for No.2 seed Zarina Diyas from Kazakhstan 6-3 6-0.

Riske's Thursday semi-final sees her take on Watson, who overcame No.9 seed Roberta Vinci 7-6 6-2.

Watson is shaping as a threat both in Hobart and in Melbourne, where her best result has been reaching the third round in 2013.

Armed with a new aggressive approach, top-ranked Briton said she's ready for success in the Australian tournaments.

"Last year or a few years ago I might have tried to play the score which isn't the right way to play, it doesn't matter what the score ... I'm going to still fight for that next point," she said after her Thursday win.

Japan's Kurumi Nara will contest the other semi-final after her 6-1 3-6 6-2 win over Italy's Camilla Giorgi.

Nara will play the winner of Knapp and American qualifier Madison Brengle.


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Source: AAP


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