Samantha Stosur has returned to Flushing Meadows feeling in the same ominous form as when she hoisted the US Open trophy in 2011.
Stosur says gradual improvement through the grasscourt season and Wimbledon all came together in her recent win in Carlsbad, which broke a title drought of two years for Australia’s world No.13.
Her victory over world No.2 Victoria Azarenka in the final of the Southern California Open came amid a run of nine wins in 11 matches on American hardcourts over the northern summer and has the 29-year-old feeling upbeat entering the Open.
“It did take a while to win another title. I thought I played some of the best tennis I played in a long time, which is always a nice feeling,” Stosur said ahead of her first-round clash with American teenager Victoria Duval.
“I served very well, was moving forward. It felt like I was playing somewhat similar to how I was when I won here a couple of years ago with just the style and the aggressiveness that I was able to play with.
“It’s fantastic coming back here. However you feel, you can walk in here and think this is pretty cool and relive all those great memories and hopefully make them all happen again.”
A recent surprise split with her coach of almost six years, David Taylor, has not dinted Stosur’s confidence and the 12th seed is also feeling relaxed about opening her title bid against an opponent she knows little about.
“I know that she’s a young American prospect, that’s for sure, and I think she played here last year and lost to (Kim) Clijsters maybe the first round,” Stosur said.
“And that’s all the research I’ve been able to do so far.
“It can go both ways. You can play some players you know inside out and then you go out there and play and they do something different and you’ve got to adjust.
“So sometimes it’s easier to not know them and to just see what they do in the warm-ups and just adjust accordingly.”
For the first time since 2009, Stosur is not seeded in the top 10 – but that’s not a concern either.
“As far as points go, it doesn’t necessarily take a lot for things to turn around,” she said.
“You can have one great tournament and you know you can be back.”
