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New old ground

11 March 2011

It was this time last year that then world No.11 Sam Stosur began an incredible run of success that would culminate in her reaching her maiden Grand Slam final at Roland Garros. Starting at Indian Wells, where she lost in the semifinals to Jelena Jankovic, Stosur reeled off a string of results that racked up more Ws next to her name than anyone else on the WTA Tour during the first six months of 2010. A tournament win in Charleston, finals at Roland Garros and Stuttgart, two semis and two quarters from seven consecutive tournaments propelled Stosur inside the top 10 for the first time in her career. Twelve months on and she’s still there. Not only that, she’s moved into the top five, not a bad effort according to her coach for the past four years, Dave Taylor. “It will be interesting to see how she goes this year being a top player. Indian Wells is where she cracked the top 10. It’s very rare that a player gets in the top 10 and then a year later after doing that they’re actually in the top five, so it really shows that she has the tennis that belongs at that level,” Taylor tells samstosur.com from Indian Wells where he is overseeing his charge’s preparations. A first-round bye means a little extra time to get ready for Stosur before taking on Spanish qualifier Laura Pous-Tio in the second round. Stosur’s preparation has consisted of a week of training at her US base in Tampa, Florida, which wasn’t limited to tennis – Taylor making sure the routine didn’t get stale by introducing some different activities including kayaking. Following an Australian summer that saw the local favourite leave without adding any silverware to her Osaka and Charleston titles, Stosur suffered two tough Fed Cup losses before a three-set tussle ended unfavourably for the Australian in the Dubai quarterfinals. Despite taking a 4-1 lead in the deciding set, Stosur was unable to put away Jankovic. It’s the fourth three setter she’s lost this year (she’s yet to win one) compared with 2010 when Stosur won 15 of 21 in three-set matches. Despite the stats, Taylor isn’t overly concerned. “I think it won’t take much for her to turn that around and win a few close matches.” “The great thing is they’re good quality players and they’re very close matches. The not so great thing is that she didn’t win those but I think it just takes a bit more conviction under pressure to do the right thing and a bit of attention to detail and not to panic. “The fact is it’s only a point here or there. If they’re comprehensive losses then you have to look at maybe the way you’ve been playing and maybe go over it with more of a fine-tooth comb.” Likewise, Stosur is happy with her form and believes that the close finishes need to be put in perspective. "I actually think I am playing just as well as this time last year, if not hopefully a little bit better," she said in the lead-up to Indian Wells. "I just haven't had the results so far this year. I have lost a few tight matches and all that but I guess that means that hopefully it's just around the corner. "You fix a few points here and there throughout matches, you get through those and then all of a sudden you have had a really good year compared to a mediocre one." And Stosur’s hoping that 2011 will be the year that she becomes a Grand Slam champion. Come May the 26-year-old Australian will be one of the favourites at Roland Garros. "My game definitely suits it," she said. "The last couple of years I've played well on that surface. I've got a couple of good lead-up tournaments before the French Open and I would really like to do well there again. "I would like to try and get myself in that same position again and try and go one better. There is a long way to go at the start of a Grand Slam before you are winning the tournament but that is definitely a big goal of mine for this year."

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