Stosur getting comfortable on grass
Despite a one-sided loss in her only grasscourt match at Eastbourne, Sam Stosur is acclimatising to the grass and feeling fresh ahead of Wimbledon.
London, UK, 26 June 2016 | Matt Trollope
Shrugging off a cold, fresh after Paris and gaining valuable time on grass, Sam Stosur feels ready to go ahead of her 14th Wimbledon campaign.
The Australian, seeded 14th at the All England Club, opens against Poland’s Magna Linette in the first round.
Thanks to her top-16 seeding – achieved after her recent semifinal run at Roland Garros pushed her back up to No.14 in the world – Stosur avoids any of the draw’s truly big names until at least the fourth round.
But that hasn’t prevented her from remaining wary, especially given her comparative struggles on grass and the presence of former Wimbledon finalist Sabine Lisicki as a potential second-round opponent.
“I guess it’s nice knowing that you don’t have to play someone in the top 16 in the third round but I’ve got to get there first, so it doesn’t actually matter until you make use of that position where you should make it through the draw. It is what it is. it’s nice to be back up there regardless of whatever the draw’s handed me,” she said.
“Don’t really know anything (about Linette). Have to, I guess, work some things out, but we’ve never played, we’ve never practised, never crossed paths, so it’s going to be something quite different actually, probably, on Monday when I have to play.”
Stosur’s one and only outing on grass in 2016 came in the form of a 6-2 6-1 drubbing by Caroline Wozniacki in her opening-round match at Eastbourne.
She’d previously been home in Australia, recharging after her Parisian semifinal appearance and hitting on hardcourts after a “long and busy claycourt season.”
Stosur also revealed she been battling a cold since Monday, but that her health was improving.
“Since then I’ve got better and better,” she said.
“I’m not gonna blame that (for the Wozniacki loss); I think it was probably only being able to hit on grass for two or three hours beforehand, so it wasn’t necessarily ideal.
“But I think it was still a good match for me, and I actually had a fair few opportunities, especially in that first set but I wasn’t able to take them. So I was giving myself enough chances but obviously didn’t capitalise on any of them.
“Since that I’ve been able to get a good few days of practice in and I’m feeling better and better each day.”
Stosur’s best results at the All England Club were third-round finishes in 2009, 2013 and 2015.