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AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 15, 2018

Samantha Stosur

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

M. PUIG/S. Stosur

4-6, 7-6, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Is the issue with playing on home soil, not having success, becoming sort of a self-fulfilling prophecy?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: I don't really think about it. I try and not worry about it. I mean, I think everyone else makes a bigger deal about it than what I do personally.

But, look, I was one point away. I'd be in the second round if I won one more point. Unfortunately that's the way it goes sometimes. Obviously I do everything I can to try to have a better result here in Australia. For whatever reason, it just won't happen for me.

I'll come back next year and do it all over again.

Q. Set up and a break up, you must have felt at that point everything was working well, particularly the serve?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: Yeah, I served really well. I think that first set is probably some of the best serving I've done in a very long time. I think that kind of continued out throughout the rest of the match, for the most part. I thought my slice was good.

I mean, there's always things you wish you could have maybe done a little bit more. I've gone over match point about a hundred times already in the last 45 minutes.

Yeah, I think overall I played a pretty good match. Again, I was as close as you can get without winning. It's hard to kind of, you know, make -- you don't want to make more and more out of it. If it was literally that difference, then I'd be sitting here probably thinking very differently.

Q. What have you been thinking about match point?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: Should I have gone for a bit more. Should I have been, you know, a bit more aggressive.

But, you know, she made three forehands off a slice backhand of mine that she didn't do for any other point of the match, I don't think. I think I probably did do the right thing.

I think it's one of those things where you'll probably relive it more. But in the moment, that's what I chose to do. I've got to stand by that.

Q. On your wristband you had I think 'courage' and 'kind'. Could you explain the rationale with those two words.
SAMANTHA STOSUR: Just to have courage to be doing what I should be doing out there, not beat myself too much, try to be a bit kind to myself. Actually, the things I've been working on kind of throughout my game, not the forehands and backhand side of things. I thought I achieved everything I wanted to today.

There's still, I guess, a lot of upside, things I can be proud of. There's things that everyone is always focusing on. Those are two of the things. I think for the most part I achieved that.

Q. I know you were very close today, but can you put this record in Melbourne down to anything, Sam?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: I just struggle on these hard courts a bit. Yeah, I don't know. Here, with everything, I'm not going to say it's one particular thing, but if I could play on an American hard court with different balls, then I'd probably be a lot happier here. It's just one of those things.

It's not the same thing over and over again. I think it's a bunch of different things put together. Yeah, it's one of those things.

Q. Given that you had a few words to say in the middle of last year about Margaret Court Arena, Billie Jean spoke about it this week, did that present any reservations for you? What did you think when you saw that you had drawn first up to play on that court?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: Oh, I was fine. Look, I think that happened, what, six months ago now. Everyone said what they said. Obviously it's continuing a little bit at the moment, these last few days.

But, you know, I'll play on the court. It's a nice court to play on. The crowd was there. They were behind me. Yeah, that was fine.

Q. I don't know if you heard Monica's on-court interview. She was exceptionally kind to you and apologized to the crowd for beating you, said you were someone she looked up to. She was rooting for you in the 2011 US Open final against Serena. Is there a special relationship there? Are you mates?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: No, not really. That is nice of her to say. I think you want to have that respect from your fellow peers. Yeah, that's nice of her to, I guess, say those things. Obviously here in Australia, that probably goes a long way. Yeah, that was really nice of her then.

Q. What's next?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: I play mixed with Grothy. We're trying to relive last year and hopefully go a bit better, then on with the rest of the year. This isn't the end of it, that's for sure.

Q. What keeps you going at this stage of your career?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: Just trying to get better. You know, I still think I've got a lot of good tennis left in me. Just trying to do that every day, every week.

I guess I'll come back next year and try and have a great Aussie Open. It's not always necessarily my happiest moments, but if I can do that, I'll be pretty damn happy. Yeah, just try and get better.

You have those moments out on court when you hit a great shot, the crowd cheers for you, all those things. I think you don't get that probably doing many other things in life. While I've still got the opportunity to play and do something that I really love, I'll do it day after day.

Q. What is the mindset like when you do lose?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: Yeah, I mean, I guess you can look at it both ways. I've had the years where I've lost and literally gone straightaway and not wanted to come back. Other years, you hang around, you get back out on court, you win a match in the mixed.

You got to get over it at some point. I think if you know you've done what you can, tried your best, then there's not a lot to be ashamed of really.

I'll be ready to come out here and play with Grothy. It's his last event. It should be fun. I know he's going to be really pumped up, ready to go, try to get a good result and have some fun, as will I.

Yeah, I think obviously it's pretty hard right now. But tomorrow you wake up, come to practice, you got to switch that mindset on to the next event. That's what we'll try and do.

Q. You don't have many points to defend after the French Open. Is there a ranking goal for this year?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: I mean, I'd really like to get myself seeded again for the next Grand Slam, the French. I think that's kind of the next goal, to try and, yeah, make a few gains in the next couple of months so I can go into the French seeded again. Hopefully from there, back to the top 20.

Yeah, there's not a lot to defend, but I got to do something before that point, too. Day in, day out, just try and achieve that.

Q. Is the loss even more disappointing because it feels like a fairly open field, no Williams sisters? What is your view on that?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: I mean, I don't feel more disappointed because of that reason. I think every year there's opportunities that come different players' way. The draw never goes the way everybody thinks it will. There's always a section that really opens up generally. You get a big outsider come through and do well. I think that can happen at, yeah, any tournament. Doesn't necessarily make it any worse right now for me.

Q. Is the French Open the one you circle, the one you really want?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: For sure my schedule is probably heavily based around trying to play as much as I can on the clay, yeah, really target those tournaments. There's not that many of them in the big picture of the whole year with the calendar. There's obviously three massive tournaments for us in Madrid, Rome and the French.

Yeah, I mean, that's certainly a target for the year. But even before that, you got Indian Wells and Miami, which I think I can play well on those surfaces in the States. I guess the next little bit of time is probably a good time for me to get excited and try and play my best tennis over there.

Q. How do you rate Ash and Dasha's chances?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: Yeah, every opportunity. It would be great to see if Dash can win tonight, bounce back from Sydney. Ash has had a great start of the year. I don't know who Ash plays, to be honest. I think she'll be excited to play. That was a fantastic result in Sydney.

Yeah, I'll be watching them, and all the other girls that are in, eagerly. Hopefully they can go far.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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