When Australian Samantha Stosur last played in the Hobart International she was a 19 year-old on the verge of breaking into the world’s top 100. Tomorrow Stosur makes her return to the tournament as a grand slam champion and the highest-ranked player in the draw.
For the world no. 18, her last appearance at the tournament in 2004 is now a distant memory.
“To be honest I don’t remember a lot, it was such a long time ago,” she said.
“That was at the start of my career. I was a teenager starting out, so it was a nice launching pad for me to come to this tournament and now it is great I get to come back towards the later part of my career.”
Stosur’s career has soared to great heights since.
The 2011 US Open win was the pinnacle in a stellar career that also saw her reach the 2010 French Open final and spend 61 weeks ranked as the world’s number one doubles player.
Stosur is now looking forward to showing Tasmanian tennis fans just how much she has grown as a player since her last appearance.
“I’m a completely different player to what I was back then. I’d like to think I’m a lot more consistent and know what I’m doing. Ten years is a long time, especially in tennis,” she said.
Stosur usually competes in Sydney in the week before the Australian Open, but opted to change her schedule in 2014 to include the Hobart International.
“It is good to do something different and I knew this tournament was a nice one, so I thought why not?” she said.
Stosur started her 2014 season at the Hopman Cup in Perth last week, representing Australia alongside Bernard Tomic.
Despite three singles losses in the round-robin competition, Stosur drew plenty of positives from the week as she prepares for the Australian Open.
“It was still a good week, even if I didn’t win a match. I thought I played some pretty decent tennis. To have two tight three-setters is always going to do you good later on down the track,” she said.
Stosur arrived in Hobart on Saturday and has spent time on the practice courts in the past two days honing her game.
“I’m feeling good. I practiced here yesterday and today. Today was a bit nicer without the wind, you actually felt like you could hit the ball,” she said.
Stosur will feature in tomorrow’s day session, playing American qualifier Madison Brengle.
“I’m feeling ready for tomorrow,” Stosur said.
Tickets for Stosur’s return to the Domain Tennis Centre tomorrow are still available and can be purchased at ticketek.com.au.