Facing a 42-year-old without a match on clay in a year would seemingly present Samantha Stosur with a gift-wrapped opportunity to get her Roland Garros campaign off to a flyer.
But Australia’s top-ranked tennis star knows better than to underestimate wily Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm.
The pair will meet in an intriguing first-round clash at the French Open, which starts on Sunday, with Stosur again the great white hope of a seven-strong Australian contingent.
Looking to rebound in a testing year hindered by form and fitness issues, a meeting with a player 13 years her senior could be seen as an ideal chance for world No.9 Stosur to build some early momentum at her favourite grand slam.
The Australian admits Date Krumm’s lack of claycourt matches doesn’t exactly make facing her a frightening proposition but she’s got nothing but respect for the Elder of the WTA tour.
“Full credit to her, it’s amazing what she’s done,” Stosur told AAP.
“She’s had an amazing career, given what she’d done in the first part of her career and then going away for a few years and coming back.
“She’s been around a very long time and got lots of experience.
“You certainly can’t take any match lightly but I guess it’s maybe a positive sign if she hasn’t played any lead-up tournaments.”
Date-Krumm won the only previous meeting between the two, in Osaka in 2010.
She hasn’t played on clay since a first round loss at last year’s French Open, though she was a semi-finalist at Roland Garros back in 1995.
Stosur was limited to only 20 minutes of practice at the competition venue on Friday as wet weather wreaked havoc with the majority of the field’s preparations.
She’ll finalise her preparations over the weekend with a hit against Ashleigh Barty, the only other Australian woman in the draw.
Barty, 17, is a rising star of world tennis but is still without a win in five attempts at grand slams.
She gets her latest chance against big-hitting Czech Lucie Hradecka and while coach Jason Stoltenberg feels she may be ready to take the next step, the focus is still on her development.
“To get another opportunity to be here and play in another grand slam, it’s priceless,” Stoltenberg said.
Australia’s men have received tough opening assignments.
Lleyton Hewitt faces 15th-seeded Frenchman Gilles Simon, a player he has never beaten, while Marinko Matosevic’s quest to break his duck in grand slams was dealt a cruel blow when he was drawn against world No.5 David Ferrer.
The returning Bernard Tomic faces Romanian Victor Hanescu while James Duckworth, who clinched a qualifying berth on Friday, meets Slovenian Blaz Kavcic.
Teenager Nick Kyrgios makes his grand slam debut against Czech Radek Stepanek.
The first round will be held over three days with the order of play yet to be determined.
