WASHINGTON -- A day before the Citi Open started, 2011 US Open champion?Samantha Stosur?spent an hour hitting on court with 173rd-ranked Jessica Pegula.On Friday, in the hard-court tournaments quarterfinals, wild-card entry Pegula stunned the top-seeded Stosur 7-6 (4), 6-3 to get to a WTA semifinal for the first time.Pegula, 22, said that spending time with Stosur before the tournament was a boost, because it gave a little insight into the sort of professionalism needed to reach the upper echelon of the tour.She probably doesnt want to hear that, Pegula said, but it really helped me practicing with her.Stosur led 4-1 in the opening tiebreaker before losing six consecutive points to drop that set.The only break of the match came in the next-to-last-game, when Pegula went up 5-3, then served out what she called probably the biggest win of my career.Pegula, whose parents own the NFLs?Buffalo Bills?and NHLs?Buffalo Sabres, had lost seven of her previous eight matches before arriving in Washington.So her performance this week is 100 percent a step in the right direction, Pegula said. I was losing to people ranked a lot lower than me. ... I was in a miserable mood.On Saturday, she will face either Lauren Davis or Camila Giorgi for a berth in the final.The other semifinal at the hard-court tournament will be No. 6-seeded Yulia Putintseva against No. 7 Yanina Wickmayer.Wickmayer beat No. 4 Kristina Mladenovic 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, while Putintseva defeated Risa Ozaki 6-4, 6-2. Cheap Custom Jerseys . In the lead up - which seemed to begin the moment Mike Geiger blew the whistle in Houston last Thursday night - the Impact rumour mill went into overdrive. The speculation went into meltdown mode, of the golden nugget variety. Clearance Custom Jerseys . -- Eastern Kentucky thrives off creating havoc for others. http://www.customjerseysnearme.com/ .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Custom Basketball Jerseys .J. -- New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz will miss the rest of the season after having surgery on his left knee. Custom Jerseys From China .B. -- The Baie-Comeau Drakkar took over sole possession of first place atop the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League on Thursday with their sixth straight win. Once touted as the next big thing, Nu Brown looks set to get his chance to prove his worth in James Maloneys absence for the depleted Cronulla this weekend.Brown appears set to play his first NRL match in two years as Shane Flanagans side feels the effects of the representative period talent drain.The 21-year-old Samoan Test representative was heavily hyped when he came into grade in 2014 but an ACL injury suffered at last years Auckland Nines set him back a season while the acquisition of Maloney and Chad Townsend sent him down the pecking order.He got his first taste of first grade in 2014, thrown into the halves in the back end of the season following Todd Carneys sacking for the infamous bubbler photo incident and managed 11 games that year.He is also well remembered as the player who microwaved his iPhone in an attempt to recharge it.Hes been impressive so far in what hes been doing in NSW Cup and his game for Samoa, Townsend told AAP.If he gets the chance, Ill definitely be confident he can do the job.Brown trained alongside Townsend in the halves at Southern Cross Group Stadium and looks set to be among a host of new names for the ladder-leading Sharks this weekend.The Sharks face the startling prospect of going into Sundays clash with the Panthers at Pepper Stadium as rank outsiders despite riding a club-record 12 NRL streak.ddddddddddddWithout Maloney, Paul Gallen, Andrew Fifita, Jack Bird and Wade Graham, who are away on State of Origin duties, they face the biggest test of their three-month-long winning run.Having used just 19 players all season, they are expected to blood five new faces including Brown, giving them the first real test of their depth in the 2016 season.With dominant playmaker Maloney away, Townsend said he expected fullback Barba to get his hands on the ball a lot more and to be given a creative licence.I think (Barba) was a little bit hard done by, by not be picked for Queensland. Hes in some of the best form of his career, Townsend said.Its a pleasure to watch - him in a bit of space is what we want to see.I think this weekend with Jimmy missing, we will see Benny step up and get a bit more ball in his hand and stand up a bit more at first receiver and take a bit of pressure off the boys.Mitch Brown is expected to get his first call up of the year while former Manly forward Jesse Sene-Lefao is expected to make his club debut.Winger Valentine Holmes (hamstring) is expected to return after missing Saturdays win over Parramatta however Ricky Leutele is in doubt with an ankle problem. ' ' '