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Sam shifts her sights to Wimbledon

10 Jun 2009

[caption id="attachment_987" align="aligncenter" width="516" caption="Photo: Ron Angle"][/caption] AAP Brimming with confidence from her career-best performance at the French Open, Samantha Stosur is setting her sights on making another major mark at Wimbledon. PHOTO GALLERY: Sam takes part in a Lacoste photo shoot in Paris Despite losing a tight semifinal 6-4 6-7(5) 6-3 at Roland Garros to Russian seventh seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, the Australian says she can do at least as well at the famous grasscourt Grand Slam. The 25-year-old Queenslander said her performance in Paris, where she defeated world No.4 Elena Dementieva on the way to making her debut in a Grand Slam final four, had given her a massive confidence boost. "I've got to adapt a few little things for the grass, but I'm certainly looking forward to getting in there for another Grand Slam," Stosur said. "Hopefully I can bring out some of the same kind of tennis and find myself in a similar position. "It would be great." Despite having previously been touted as a potential Wimbledon champion by her former coach Gigi Fernandez and former Fed Cup captain John Alexander, Stosur has never gone beyond the second round at the All England Club in six previous attempts. But coach Rene Moller said Stosur's performance in Paris boded well for another long run at Wimbledon. "Luckily we'll have a week to practice and try to get a feel for the grasscourts," he said. "I know it's a cliche but she still has to go out there and take every match at a time and by the end of the two weeks if she's in the final, then that would be great." On the back of her dramatic run to the French Open semis, Sportingbet have slashed her price to win Wimbledon from $101 to $51. Serena Williams is the $3.50 favourite. Stosur's remarkable run in Paris made her the first Australian woman to reach the last four since Nicole Bradtke (nee Provis) 21 years ago. Stosur put in an almighty fight to come from one set down and 5-2 behind in a second set tiebreak to force Kuznetsova to a third set on Thursday. But the Russian was too strong and seized her chance to set up an all-Russian final against world No.1 Dinara Safina. Glued to their TV set on the Gold Coast were Stosur's parents, Diane and Tony, who sent their daughter a message of support after her match. "Mum sent me an email ... [saying] `you should have heard us all cheering and yelling and screaming for you," Stosur said. Stosur's consolation prize from Paris will be to see her world ranking rocket up 14 places to about No.18 and pocket €265,000 (AUD$468,400) in prize money – nearly double what she has made this year. The Australian started 2009 wanting to crack the top 20 and now she has done that is aiming even higher. "I've kind of proven I can do it in a Grand Slam and where it really counts," she said. Stosur said her own success in Paris and that of compatriot Jelena Dokic in making the quarterfinals at the Australian Open in January augured well for the women's game in Australia. "For the last couple of years now, women's tennis back home has been definitely moving in the right direction," she said. "And with Jelena's success in Melbourne and now mine here ... everyone is going to look at that and want to try and follow. "There's definitely a good group of girls coming up, so I think we're definitely in a good spot." Mark Woodforde, who with Todd Woodbridge won 12 Grand Slam doubles titles including one French Open and a record six Wimbledons, said it was "about time" Australian tennis fans had someone to celebrate at a major. "Back in Australia we've been waiting for someone to make a real push in the latter stages of a Grand Slam," he said. "Dokic earlier this year was a fabulous result and Sam's got a formidable game and hopefully she can now recognise how deep her strengths are."

Tags: Wimbledon

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