Shank serves leaves Stosur rival blushing

When it comes to serving a tennis ball - just like any shot - it's all about timing and rhythm.

And Romanian Monica Niculescu gave the perfect example of what can happen when it all goes wrong during her first round loss to Samantha Stosur at the Australian Open.

Serving at one game all and 40-30 in the first set, Niculescu etched her name into the Open bloopers file when she horribly shanked her shot out of bounds.

In what appeared to be a bad case of sun in the eyes, the 27-year-old slammed the ball off the racquet frame and then watched with embarrassment as it sailed past the service line and beyond the court.

The miscue proved somewhat of an omen with Niculescu going on to lose the set and the match 6-4 6-1, while Stosur progressed to the second round.

The Australian will face American Coco Vandeweghe in her bid to progress beyond the fourth round for the first time in 13 attempts.