Stosur needs help: psychologist

Get professional help now.

That was the sobering message from leading sport psychologist Jeff Bond to Sam Stosur after yet another home-court meltdown, this time at the Brisbane International.

And Bond said despite her denials, Stosur not only knew her on-court capitulations in Australia came down to her fragile mindset – her rivals did too.

Bond believes Stosur must act now or never realise her potential.

Former US Open champion Stosur added another stat to her horror home record when she let a 5-1 third set lead slip to crash out in the Brisbane International first round.

It sounded alarm bells ahead of the Australian Open where a fourth round berth is the former world No.4’s best result.

But Stosur it seemed, was not listening.

“For 99 per cent of that match I’m really happy with the way that I played and what I did,” Stosur said after losing the last six games to succumb to American leftie Varvara Lepchenko.

After squirming on his couch watching yet another Stosur surrender Down Under on TV, Bond said it was time for the world No.22 to bite the bullet and work with a sport psychologist to avoid wondering what might have been.

“How can you be happy when you are 5-1 up in the third set and lose 7-5?” Bond told AAP.

“You can’t sit back and say it is not mental – of course it is mental.

“And the reality is if she does nothing, the probability of that occurring again is fairly high.

“No doubt she can play but I think there is a lot of potential sitting there not being realised yet – that’s the frustrating part.”

Bond – a former AIS head sport psychologist during his 30-year career – said Stosur must make the call otherwise her home rut may never end.

However, he said it could be done.

“This is not something that is fixed overnight,” he said.

“And to put something in place that will hold up under pressure and is sustainable is not easy.

“I know from my own experience that it is possible for a player to make that mental shift.

“But she would want to be getting cracking very smartly.”

In the meantime Bond said rivals would know what buttons to push against Stosur on home soil.

“I think her opponents know when to put pressure on at the right time,” he said.

“Whether a crowd is there or not should not make a difference if you have your mindset right.

“But she has sent a message to her opponents – ‘push me enough on home ground and I will struggle’ – that would give confidence to anyone playing Sam.

“And that’s a pity because every Australian would love to see her do well.”

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