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QATAR TOTAL OPENFebruary 13, 2012Samantha StosurDOHA, QATAR THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Are you happy with your form in 2012 so far? SAMANTHA STOSUR: Oh, in a nutshell, no, not really. I think I could have had a much better year so far, but, you know, that's the way it goes sometimes. You can plan and train and do everything exactly how you want it, and sometimes you don't get the results straightaway. I mean, having said that, I had a good week at Fed Cup and feel like I kinda got things going a little bit more after winning my two matches there. Hopefully I can continue that on this week and for the rest of the year. Q. Do you think it's going to be a tough week in Doha? There are a lot of good players here. SAMANTHA STOSUR: Oh, absolutely. Yeah, this tournament is very tough, it's a big draw, and most of the top 10. Yeah, it's a very strong tournament. Yeah, it's definitely gonna be an interesting week, I think. And for sure I'm gonna have to be playing well to try and get through some rounds. Q. Do you think that Australia has good replacements for Lleyton Hewitt and yourself? SAMANTHA STOSUR: Um, well, I mean ‑‑ Q. In terms of Grand Slam victories. SAMANTHA STOSUR: Um, yeah, I guess time will only tell, but, you know, I'd like to think there will be someone in the future that can do obviously what Lleyton has done and myself more recently. So I don't know. I guess we'll have to wait and see. Q. Can I ask you about your opinion on Djokovic's performance last year? He had an amazing run. SAMANTHA STOSUR: Yeah. Q. What do you think about that? SAMANTHA STOSUR: Oh, it's incredible. Yeah, it hasn't been done very often, and especially in this time of tennis with it being so strong and so tough and so physical, to be able to back up the way he's done all of last year and already this year so far. It's quite remarkable. Q. Do you think there is someone on the women's tour who could rival up to him, somebody who could do the same thing on the women's tour? SAMANTHA STOSUR: I don't know. I think what he's doing is very, very unusual, man or woman. So, yeah, who knows? It might happen this year. It might never happen. Who knows? But like I said, it's very unusual the roll that he's been on for this period of time. Q. On the women's tour, the top, there has not been so many consistent performances as in the men's tour. Is this a good thing, do you think, or is it a bad thing? SAMANTHA STOSUR: I think it is what it is. I don't think it's good or bad. It's the way it is. I think everything goes around in cycles, and maybe next year or maybe this year, who knows, you know, there might be some standout top two, three, four, five players maybe like we have in the men, but, yeah, I think it definitely keeps it interesting and there's a lot of depth in women's tennis now. I think that's part of the reason why we're seeing those kinds of results, because it is so strong and it's hard to break away from the pack and be up there by yourself, I think. Q. Also, grunting is in the media. It's always made into a big issue, some of the women players grunting. Is it as much of an issue with the players? Personally does it bother you when the opponent grunts? SAMANTHA STOSUR: Yeah, I mean, I don't think it's as big an issue for us as what everyone makes it out to be. When I'm out there playing, it doesn't usually bother me. For sure there are some times where it does, but I would say on the whole I would say it doesn't.  I don't like watching it when it's very loud, but, yeah, I mean, it's been in our sport for very long time. So I don't know if anything's ever going to be able to change that. Q. Why is it somebody from Australia has taken such a long time to win a Grand Slam? Do you think tennis is not getting that much popularity in Australia? SAMANTHA STOSUR: No, I don't think so at all. I think it is getting more popular. I think the Australian Open is a big part of why it is so popular. And now we have the lead‑up tournaments in Brisbane and Sydney where ‑‑ I mean, Brisbane was nearly sold out every single day, day and night sessions. So I think the popularity is there. That's not the issue. They're trying to get more young kids playing and starting at a lower level. I think the reason why it's taken, what, 30 years or whatever it was between me winning and the one before is that tennis is so much bigger now than what it was in the '70s. And there's way more people playing from many more countries, and it's a lot more competitive. So I think it's just the way it's gone. Back then, you know, Australia and America dominated and you didn't have all the Eastern European countries. You didn't have half a draw full of Russians and that kind of thing. I think that's part of the reason why it has taken a long time. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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