Stosur awaits French Open draw
Sam Stosur is eagerly anticipating the French Open draw on Friday so that she can plan her assault on the claycourt major that has so far eluded her.
Paris, France, 25 May 2012 | AAP
Sam Stosur is eagerly awaiting Friday’s French Open draw so she can put the finishing touches on an otherwise promising preparation for the claycourt major.
Unlike tennis’s other three annual grand slam events, the French Open begins on a Sunday, a day earlier than the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open.
The three-day timeframe to complete first-round matches can unsettle a player’s rhythm and Stosur admits the uncertainty over her schedule is a tad unsettling.
Australia’s world No.6 was hoping the draw would take place before Friday so officials could schedule the opening matches before the weekend.
“So that maybe by Friday night you know whether you’re going to be playing Sunday, Monday or Tuesday,” Stosur said.
“It’s a tricky one trying to plan your days ahead.”
Despite her edginess, Stosur’s coach David Taylor couldn’t be happier with the way his charge has been hitting the ball since arriving in Paris after a third-round loss last week in Rome to Venus Williams.
“She’s super keen to play in Paris, but hopefully not too keen,” Taylor said.
“I think she was so pumped up to play well here last year and she had a pretty inexplicable loss in the third round after playing an unbelievable match in the second round.
“Look, she’s really tearing up practice well but she has to be vigilant that you can’t have that letdown or you can’t have too much anxiety creep into your tennis.”
Apart from switching off mentally against Williams, Taylor believes Stosur has so far enjoyed a “decent” claycourt campaign in Europe and that her poor match in the the Italian capital may have been a blessing.
“To have a bad match to stay vigilant for what’s important, which is here,” he said.
“She’s had 13 wins, four losses and, yeah, I think she’s had a good build-up. Maybe not as spectacular as some years, but better than others.”
As the sixth seed, Stosur is guaranteed not to run into a higher-ranked player until at least the quarterfinals.
She will be joined in Friday’s draw by countrywomen Jarmila Gajdosova, Anastasia Rodionova, Casey Dellacqua and teenage wildcard Ashleigh Barty.
Bernard Tomic, the No.28 seed, veteran wildcard Lleyton Hewitt and Matthew Ebden are Australia’s only three direct entrants in the men’s main draw.
Greg Jones will join the trio if he comes through his final round match in the qualifying draw.