Update 5:52pm. Sunburn across her ripped shoulders hints at a gruelling off-season as Sam Stosur attempts to build on a watershed Grand Slam breakthrough, this time on home turf.
Much about Stosur’s summer campaign remains from this time last year – the same salt-of-the-earth persona, time off again with family on the Gold Coast and a return as the Brisbane International’s No.1 seed.
But with a US Open crown now under her belt, the weight of an expectant sporting nation rests heavier than ever on those sunburnt shoulders.
“In the final of the US Open, there’s probably no bigger pressure, no bigger moment than what I may have to handle in the next month,” Stosur said.
“I came through that one and know that I was able to do it then – why can’t I do it again?
“I can always use that to get through whatever comes my way in the next few weeks.”
Stosur admits her results over the Australian summer have never been great but her chances of finally bettering a pair of fourth-round finishes in Melbourne have never been better, given the belief that comes with cracking that elite Grand Slam winners’ echelon.
“I can say that I’ve done it rather than continually having to tell yourself that it’s possible,” she said.
“By the end of the [WTA Tour] Championships I kind of got a second wind and wanted to keep playing so I guess that’s always a good thing at the end of the year if you feel that way and now coming off a good break and good training block hopefully it all means the start of a good year.”
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Adding to Stosur’s own expectations as a major winner is the fact Australia craves its first home-grown women’s champion in 34 years.
Defending champion Kim Clijsters and the name engraved on the Daphne Akhurst Cup for five of the past nine years, Serena Williams, are likely hurdles in Brisbane and Melbourne if Stosur is to hoist either trophy.
Itching for revenge after the Queenslander’s clinical dismantling of her US Open final on September 11, Williams will be keen to turn the tables in Stosur’s backyard.
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“I don’t think Serena goes into any match without motivation to win,” Stosur said.
“Every single time you play her it’s a really tough match. I got the better of her last time so we’ll see what happens next time.”
As the hunter becomes the hunted, Stosur ensures she is as best prepared as possible to handle the shift in pressure.
But have any of her rivals started avoiding hitting with her since she joined the Grand Slam elite?
“Not that I know of,” she laughed. “But I guess you’d better ask them if they are [avoiding practising with me] or not.”