Samantha Stosur wants another crack on Sunday after hitting the ball as sweetly as ever in front of a home crowd she said rivalled anything in her 20-year career.

The former US Open champion came within a whisker of upsetting Belarus’s world No.10 Aryna Sabalenka in the opening Fed Cup semi-final rubber on Saturday, losing 7-5 5-7 6-3 in an almost three-hour tussle.

Spearhead Ashleigh Barty levelled proceedings with a classy 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 defeat of former world No.1 Victoria Azarenka in front of 5,126 rowdy fans at Pat Rafter Arena – more than have ever watched a Fed Cup tie in Australia.

Chasing their first title since 1974, world No.9 Barty will play Sabalenka before either Stosur or Daria Gavrilova meet Azarenka or Aliaksandra Sasnovich in Sunday’s reverse singles.

A doubles contest will decide the tie if scores are locked at 2-2, with Queenslanders Stosur and Barty likely to team up for the first time.

Stosur was backed ahead of the higher-ranked Gavrilova for Saturday’s rubber by captain Alicia Molik and the 35-year-old justified the call by matching the imposing 20-year-old from the baseline.

Molik agreed it was perhaps the best she’s seen Stosur play on her home court and that they would chat as a team overnight about the best strategy for Sunday.

Stosur wants a crack at the two-time Australian Open champion though as she eyes some rare success in prime time on home soil.

“If Alicia wants to put me in I will say ‘yes, thank you very much’ and try and do it all over again,” an upbeat Stosur said after her tight loss.

“It’s the best crowd we’ve had in Australia playing Fed Cup … overseas we get donuts even if we hit the best shot in the world, but I knew that I was playing in Australia.”

A small Belarus contingent armed with horns was making plenty of noise too and will back their quality side to find a way past the Barty-powered hosts.

“Both players are playing well,” Azarenka said of Barty and Sabalenka.

“I think Ash is playing quite exceptional at the moment, so it’s going to be tough.”