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AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 23, 2010

Samantha Stosur

MELBOURNE, VICTORIA

S. STOSUR/A. Brianti
6-4, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. A good victory. How did you see it?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: Very pleased with the way I was able to then, yeah, from 3-2 in the first set kind of step it up a gear. In the second set from 2-1, felt great and went for a few more balls and served well the whole match.
So very, very pleased with the way it went.

Q. A lot of unforced errors early. Were you a little bit inpatient?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: Maybe a little bit. A little bit nervous, and, yeah, maybe just pressing a little bit too much when the court wasn't open for it.
You know, I'm gonna hit some errors when I'm going for the balls as well. So if I can keep the errors and the winners, you know, pretty tight and pretty similar, then I'm not worried about how many errors I'm going to hit if I'm going to hit the same amount of winners.

Q. You told us at the start of the season the expectations were strong on you. You seem to have gotten over that now.
SAMANTHA STOSUR: The first couple of weeks I was not handling it the way I needed to. Came into the Aussie Open and had that all done, it was all over, and I just felt what it felt like.
Just had to get out there and play tennis. That's what I kept trying to tell myself. Just wanted to feel good about my tennis. That's what I feel like I've been able to do.
I feel like now I've gotten over that hurdle and am playing well and am handling it all as I go through. I think it's all going pretty well.

Q. Assuming Serena Williams is up next. You've won the last couple time you've met. What do you think about that?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: I'm looking forward to it. I've lived up to my expectation. Now I've got to where I should have got to. Playing the No. 1 player in the world, defending champion, I can go out there and really enjoy it.
I know I won the last time we played against each other. That's probably not going to mean too much going into Monday's match. I know I've be able to get over and beat her before. I'm going to try to go out there and play the best I can and really enjoy it.

Q. Anything you need to do specifically better to beat her?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: I don't know. I mean, playing someone like Serena, you have to be on your game. I'm going to have to serve well and take every opportunity that presents itself.
As soon as I get that shorter ball at half sniff to do something, then I've got to do it. I can't let those kind of go by and wait for a second chance.
It's going to be obviously quick points and hard hitting, so I'm going to have to stand my ground and really stand up to her and give her my best shot.

Q. What is the mindset in that game? Is it sort of low expectations because she's world No. 1, defending champion, or high expectations because you have the support of the crowd?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: I don't know. Maybe a bit of both. But at the end of the day, I know I'm going to have to play well to try and beat her if that's who I end up playing.
Maybe that kind of takes a little bit of pressure off, knowing that, you know, you're playing obviously a great champion. I guess I don't really have that much to lose. I can go out there and just really enjoy it.
I know I've got the game that can beat her because I've done it before. If I can go into the match knowing that and really believing in myself, then, yeah, I'm gonna give it the best shot I can.

Q. I imagine your coach told you to stay focused at all times of the game. What did he have to say?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: The last couple matches I got the lead and then kind of let them back in a little bit and then been able to get it back again.
Today, I really wanted to kind of improve that and not let her get back into the match. From 2-1, I thought I did that really well. Yeah, I don't know. Just from 2-1 in that second set felt great and didn't feel like I was going to miss. Went for a few more balls, got that break, and then served really, really well the last couple of games.

Q. The fans are pretty vocal. Does that help you more, or do you feel bad if you don't live up to the expectations?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: No, I love playing in front of the Aussie crowd. Yeah, when the group of the yellow and green get going, they really get everyone else into it. Creates a great atmosphere out there. I know they're 100% behind me no matter whether I hit the ball in or out.
So just use them. It's great to know that you're out there and everyone's enjoying it. Yeah, couldn't really ask for a better crowd, I don't think.

Q. After your win in L.A., Serena called you a good framer. What was that all about?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: I guess she thought I hit too many frames or shanks during that match. Yeah, I don't know. Maybe I hit a couple. But I hit with a bit of spin. Maybe she wasn't expecting so many balls to drop in because of the spin.
I don't know.

Q. You didn't see it as a lucky win?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: No. I actually thought I played well, and I thought she was trying to win the match as best as she could, as well. You know, I took it as a fair win.
That's all. Yeah, that's all I can say really.

End of FastScripts

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