Stosur’s Success Will Produce Some Disappointments

Sam Stosur is a top five singles player for the first time on the WTA Tour but those celebrating the fact at Tennis Australia are steeling themselves for the announcement their leading female player will not be available to represent her country in the Commonwealth Games that includes tennis for the first time in Delhi on October 3 thru 10.
 
Australia always try to field the strongest possible line-up in the once-every-four-year event and came out on top in the medal table at the last Commonwealth Games staged in Melbourne when 71 nations competed.
 
Playing in Delhi would force Stosur to miss the China Open and potentially Osaka, where a potential title defense awaits, and could have jeopardized her chances of qualifying for the season-ending Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Championships in Doha.
 
The 26 year-old, who is this week the top seed in the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford, California above the likes of Maria Sharapova, Elena Dementieva and Ana Ivanovic, currently sits fourth in the race rankings for a place in the select Doha field.
 
“I think I’m playing really well at the moment and I’m looking forward to getting to the States and getting on the hard courts again and hopefully it will all end with a great US Open,” Stosur maintained on her official website, www.samstosur.com.
 
Stosur seems in good shape after a much needed two weeks hiatus at home on Australia’s Gold Coast and began her Stanford campaign with a 6-1, 7-5 victory over American qualifier Christina McHale.
 
“The high ranking feels good," said the beaten French Open finalist who looked decidedly weary when she lost in Wimbledon’s first round to eventual quarter-finalist Kaia Kanepi. "It was a goal for me to get to no. 10. Once I got to that point, all of a sudden I moved up to no. 5. To have another big jump like that so soon is really pleasing.
 
“It’s not like I have changed anything dramatically overnight. It’s just a combination of everything that I have been doing over the past few years and now it’s all coming together. Once you produce some good results, it instills more belief. But I haven’t changed anything in my game. I have still been working on the same things, just getting better at them."

Stosur’s coach David Taylor is sure his player has great things on the horizon. “Sure it's a bit more pressure and a lot more people take notice but the only thing that matters out here is the level you are able to produce,'' he said. ''The rest was needed, physically and mentally, and Sam, will benefit.''

Stosur had been battling an ankle injury but a scan two weeks