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WESTERN & SOUTHERN OPEN

August 18, 2011

Samantha Stosur

CINCINNATI, OHIO

S. STOSUR/N. Li
6-4, 3-6, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Congratulations on your win.
SAMANTHA STOSUR: Thanks.

Q. You seem to have very varied head-to-heads with certain players. With certain players you always do well, Li, for example. Is there something about your game that you think makes some players unable to deal with it ever?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: Yeah, I think my game is hopefully tricky for everyone to play against. I guess there are different matchups. Tennis is a funny game, because like you just said, I can have a really good matchup against some people and then terrible against others.
So I think that's the thing about tennis that always keeps it interesting. Certain game styles work really well against certain players, and sometimes you just struggle against other players.

Q. Talk a little bit about the difference between the second and third set there and how Li was able to come back and how you settled yourself. Looked like you were getting frustrated on the court in the second.
SAMANTHA STOSUR: Yeah, I started struggling a little bit and felt really flat in the second set. She picked up her game and my serve dropped off a little bit, and that gave her a few more opportunities to try and attack. She was playing really aggressive and really took it to me.
And then that third set, I just tried to regroup on my start again and take each point as it came. Then I was able get the break pretty early and was able to serve well throughout the third set, and she wasn't able to get on the top of the point before I could.

Q. Having played all the way to the final last week, are you glad to have gotten a break yesterday with Serena pulling out?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: I wasn't complaining that she pulled out. (Smiling.) It was nice to I guess still win my first round and have the opportunity again. Yeah, obviously she pulled out so I didn't have to play. I had a pretty easy day, which was nice, considering, yeah, the week I had before.
So I guess that was good for today's match, and hopefully be good for tomorrow.

Q. I know you hadn't been happy with the beginning of your 2011. What do you think you were able to change to get going the last couple weeks?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: Um, I don't know if I really changed much. It's not like I've tried to then change the way I've played. This is what I've been trying to do the whole year.
I guess I've just been able to execute it better and really find some form the last couple weeks, which is always a good feeling. I've been training hard and practicing the same the whole way through.
So I think if you can do that, you've got to think it's going to turn around. I didn't panic throughout the year and, you know, try and, like I said, change what I've been doing. I knew it was going to come, it was just a matter of time, and now it has.
Hopefully I can keep it going.

Q. Is your confidence much higher now?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: Oh, definitely. I think any time you can win matches, and consecutive matches like this in back-to-back weeks, it's always a boost in confidence.
It's a great lead-up to the US Open, and I'm really pleased with the way I've been able to continue on from last week and still have a good one here.

Q. Li Na was saying she was finding it a bit demoralizing against your serve. Obviously your serve is a key component of your game. Do you ever get that sense when you're serving against somebody, that they have to work so hard to try and even get a point off your serve, and then you fire an ace? Do you get a sense it's demoralizing to them body language-wise?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: Sure. I mean, I know when I'm playing big servers like Serena or someone else who has a really good first serve, it's always difficult, because you feel like if they miss it, then you've got a bit of a chance on a second. If you don't get that, then how are you going to win the point and then try and win a game?
So I know in the past she has struggled on the return against me and the high-bouncing kicker, and I think she tried to attack it more today. Came off sometimes and didn't on others.
I mean, that's one of those things that's my weapon for my game.

Q. With Serena pulling out and a bunch of other people already exiting the tournament, this week is very wide open. What would winning this title mean to you if you were able to?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: Oh, it would be the biggest title I've ever won. It would be fantastic. There is still a fair way to go before that can happen.
I guess making the final last week gives me good confidence going into this week. Now that I've made it this far, you never know.
If that was to happen, I would be very, very pleased.

Q. You're one of the few players that doesn't use on-court coaching at all.
SAMANTHA STOSUR: Yep.

Q. What's the rationale behind that?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: Just because in Grand Slams we can't do it, and I think they're obviously the biggest tournaments we have to play the whole year. If you've got to be able to work it out yourself then, why not do it every other week?
I don't think that during a match the coach is going to have that much input to be able to tell you and the match is going to turn around. I think most of us are pretty smart out there and can kind of work out what's going on.
It's a matter of executing it and just kind of keep the same rhythm. Like I said, then you've got do it in a Grand Slam, so you might as well keep practicing and make sure you know what you're doing every week of the year.

Q. Sometimes it's a distraction. Do you think it can disturb you, your focus?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: Yeah, I think I that's another possibility. It's not the way I grew up playing obviously because it's only been a new rule in the last few years.
I guess every player has their own routines on a change of ends. I think one time out of the blue someone comes down to tell you something that's maybe mixing it up. I don't know, it's just not for me.

Q. You think that the reason, one of the reasons that older players have been doing well in Grand Slams compared to the younger generation, is that younger generations came up during this era when on-court coaching was allowed?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: I don't know. I think the older players obviously have a lot more experience and maybe can work things out for themselves a little bit more. You know, I don't want to also feel so dependant on my coach that I can't work it out.
I don't think that's the way to go either. So I think the older girls obviously have that dynamic with their coach that they know what's going on, they know how to work it out. It's matter of the executing it and making sure they're the ones in control, not the coach.

Q. You think having younger players call their coaches during tournaments slows their development?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: Yeah, I guess you never know. I don't know exactly what gets said each change of ends. Most people speak another language other than English, so it's hard to tell.
But for me, I would think I'm going to be a better player if I've got go through that myself rather than having Dave come down. Maybe that's cost me a match or two, but in the long run I'm better off.

Q. It's wide open here this week, and also wide open for New York. Do you think it's a good opportunity for to you really make a push?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: Oh, sure. I mean, last year was my best US Open I had ever had. Having been playing the way that I'm playing now, I would like to think that I can at least make it to the second week.
To do that, you've got to keep playing well and keep doing all the right things. Grand Slams are funny tournaments. You can't take anything for granted. Everyone is out there to do the same thing.
But, you know, I think the slams and these big tournaments are obviously wide open. There is there is bunch of players can do well and beat anyone. You've got to be on your game every match.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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