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AUSTRALIAN OPENJanuary 14, 2012Samantha StosurMELBOURNE, VICTORIA THE MODERATOR: Questions for Sam. Q. What does it feel like to turn up to Melbourne Park as the most recent Grand Slam champion? SAMANTHA STOSUR: Sure, it's a nice feeling to turn up at any tournament after having that happen. I guess the next Grand Slam, having it be here, yeah, it definitely makes it a nice feeling. Q. Some people could hide from the pressure. We saw you out on Margaret Court Arena smiling, having fun, despite the nation willing you on. SAMANTHA STOSUR: That's something to smile about when the nation is willing you on. There's nothing bad about that. Nice to get out there. Obviously, the kids were having a really good time. That's what it was all about today. It was nice to be part of it. Q. Clearly the last time you spoke, you were a little shellshocked up in Sydney. What have you done in the meantime to get your mind more positively thinking? SAMANTHA STOSUR: Yeah, just get back out on the practice court. Nothing's really changed, to be honest. Came down here pretty much straightaway the next day, just practiced each day. Took yesterday off. Didn't really do much at all. Yeah, just trying to I guess get used to it all down here and get as much time on the court as I can. Q. Are you confident you'll be fine when it all gets going? SAMANTHA STOSUR: Yeah. I can only do what I can do to prepare. Hopefully that will, you know, make everything okay. But so far so good. Just looking forward to actually playing this first match. Now another pretty big lead‑up with another week's practice, but it's been good. Q. What is your history and experience with Sorana in the past? SAMANTHA STOSUR: We played a few times. We played the French Open the year I made the final. No, it was the year before, I think. We played at Hopman Cup once, and another time. I think I won two of them and lost one. I guess that's a pretty good record. Obviously a new year, a new tournament. Can't take anything lightly, that's for sure. Q. Do you analyze what happened in Brisbane and Sydney or put it out of your mind? SAMANTHA STOSUR: No, I definitely analyze it, talk about it, assess what happened out on court and why, all that kind of thing. Kind of once we've had that talk, then, yeah, you don't want to dwell on anything too negative. I said it last week, too. You got to get yourself in a good, positive frame of mind for the next event because there's always the next tournament to play the next week. You can't dwell on anything that you weren't happy about for too long. Yeah, take what you can out of it, do whatever you need to change, if you need to change anything. Q. Have you spoken to Ruth in the last few days? SAMANTHA STOSUR: Yeah, we've seen each other, spoken to each other. Yeah, I guess it's nice to know that she's kind of there in my corner, as well. Yeah, have a few talks together. Q. Serena says if she can't win this, she'd like to see you win it. What do you think when you hear that? SAMANTHA STOSUR: I guess that's a nice thing for a fellow player to say. Yeah, obviously it's going to be tough. But I'm going to give it my best shot and hopefully I can go far. Once you get to a certain point in the tournament, I think anything can happen. So I guess you got to go as far as you can hopefully into the second week and from there you don't know. Q. The buildup to a tournament, is it more exciting this slam, because it is your home Grand Slam? SAMANTHA STOSUR: Sure, it's always exciting to be playing here. I've always loved playing in Melbourne. There's no real court like this in the world for an Australian to play on. When you have that home crowd willing you on every single point, it's a great feeling. So I'm looking forward to getting out there and playing my first match. Q. Does the US Open seem a long time ago now? SAMANTHA STOSUR: Yeah, it does seem like a long time ago. But then, you know, those memories are still pretty fresh, I guess. But then there's still so much that's happened since then. Yeah, I guess it's kind of funny being back here maybe more than anywhere else because people still say congratulations for that, how exciting and great it was. But, yeah, it was four months ago now. You kind of keep getting pulled back into reliving all that. Obviously, it's a nice thing to be remembered about. Q. People say a lot of different things about how your game is suited or not suited to the surface here. How do you think it matches up? SAMANTHA STOSUR: I think the surface is fine. You know, this is a surface that I play on every time when I come home to Australia. It's not that much throughout the year, but I'm hitting on it a little bit more than some other players. Being able to practice on it in the pre‑season helps as well. I don't think there's anything‑‑ certainly nothing bad about the surface. It's a nice, true court. I guess it keeps things pretty even. Yeah, I think it's fine. Q. Incredible depth in the women's game at the moment. Four different Grand Slam winners last year. How many different girls do you think are capable of winning? SAMANTHA STOSUR: Yeah, obviously last year there were four different ones. Yeah, I think you could probably throw another couple names into that hat that are definitely capable of winning Grand Slams this year and next. I don't know, I think it's pretty open, but I think it's also that real competitiveness. That's why there's not really one player absolutely dominating at the moment. I guess this tournament will be another chance for maybe someone new to step up and win. If not, maybe one of the same people from last year. You don't know. Q. What is the main thing you aim to do differently this week than you had managed to do in Brisbane and Sydney? SAMANTHA STOSUR: I think at the end of the day I just need to worry about playing good tennis. That's what I've been trying to do on the practice courts since then and not get too caught up in, you know, is it absolutely perfect, all that kind of thing. It's hard to always play perfect. Maybe when you're a little bit stressed, that's what you're always looking for. But, yeah, I think that's probably the main thing for me to remember. You can go out there and play well; it doesn't have to be perfect. Give a hundred percent, compete hard. If I can do that then, yeah, I'll be happy. Q. I like your jacket. SAMANTHA STOSUR: Thank you. Q. How do you feel about your new outfit? SAMANTHA STOSUR: I'm really liking wearing ASICS. I have another new outfit to wear this week. That will be exciting. Yeah, I'm looking forward to obviously building on the partnership we just started. Q. Is it just an outfit or shoes as well? SAMANTHA STOSUR: Shoes, as well. Q. When did you change your contract? SAMANTHA STOSUR: At the start of the year. I've worn their shoes for the last year or so and then the 1st of January started wearing their clothes as well. Q. Bernard Tomic on the men's side is our great hope as well. Any advice on how to deal with the expectations and the crowd support? SAMANTHA STOSUR: No. I'm still trying to work all that out myself, get used to it. Bernard has a different personality to me. He seems to handle it quite well. He obviously thrives on all the attention that he gets. Yeah, he's obviously done very, very well so far. I'm sure that's going to continue. So, yeah, hopefully he can have a great tournament as well. Q. Is there anything different that you do for this tournament to prepare than you've done in the past now that you've won a major tournament? SAMANTHA STOSUR: No, I don't think so. I think you don't want to change anything. I mean, I didn't change anything going into the US Open. Just kept building on what you know works for me and how I want to approach each tournament and each match. I guess, yeah, US Open it all worked out so I'm not going to change anything, the way I prepare, this week. I think going into each Grand Slam it can always be a different buildup. Sometimes you win more matches, sometimes you lose more matches depending on what it is. You just have to work it out and be ready for that first round you get to play in the next event. Nothing I don't think is always the same going into any Grand Slam. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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