Stosur banking on lucky draw for Aus Open after fifth loss
SAMANTHA Stosur will be hoping for a bit of luck when the Australian Open draw is made on Friday morning in Melbourne after being seeded No.9 for her home tournament.
Her preparations for next week's grand slam opener were dealt another blow with a fifth straight loss on home soil, this time at the Sydney International on Monday night in three sets to world No.42 Zheng Jie, of China, 6-3 6-7 (9-7) 6-4.
If Stosur does manage to win her first round match next week and start a run at the Open, she will face up to one the top eight women in round four.
Despite the poor form and ankle surgey in November Stosur is still positive about her chances at Melbourne.
"It probably sounds silly to think that with two first-round losses (the pressure) is not affecting me as much, but honestly I feel much more sure about myself and what I want to do," Stosur said.
"My ankle feels good. This week I made a real effort to get out on court, put in a lot of hours."
World No.1 and defending men's singles champion Novak Djokovic is the No. 1 men's seed next week, while fellow world No. 1 and defending women's singles champion Victoria Azarenka will start her campaign for back-to-back titles as top seed in the women's draw.
