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2010 French Open finalist, and Australian, Sam Stosur, begins her 2014 campaign tonight as she takes on Puerto Rican Monica Puig in the opening round at Roland Garros.
Join us for live scores and commentary from 10:30pm AEST.
Stosur is Australia’s best chance of success at Roland Garros this year and is the nation’s highest ranked player in the draw at world number 20.
As a result she is the 19th seed for the event; the only one Australia has in both main draws.
Stosur faces a tough task in round 1 as she faces the 56th ranked Puig who has been in stellar form over the last two weeks.
She was beaten by the winner – Maria Sharapova – in Rome before claiming her first WTA title last week in Strasbourg.
The Puerto Rican also holds no fears of Grand Slams or seeds at those events.
Last year she excelled on that stage.
At Roland Garros in 2013, her debut in the main draw at Grand Slam level, she defeated the 11th seed Nadia Petrova in three sets.
Puig would make the third round, losing to Carla Suarez Navarro.
She repeated the performance in Wimbledon when she defeated the fifth seed, Sara Errani, in a dominant performance on grass.
Puig would make the fourth round and be defeated by Sloane Stephens in three sets.
If Stosur underestimates Puig then she cause the upset tonight.
She thrives on being the underdog and punching above her weight and height.
Stosur on the other hand, as illustrated in Australia, struggles to cope with pressure and loses concentration at critical moments.
This hasn’t happened at the French Open before and the Australian plays well in Paris.
Two semi-finals and a final show that on her favourite surface and event.
Her form leading into the event has also been good over the last two weeks.
In Madrid, she made the third round, before losing to Maria Sharapova.
In Rome, she lost to the 2011 French Open champion in Li Na in the third round.
I expect Stosur to be too strong for Puig but it will go to 3 sets and be close.
Her serve and her forehand are critical to the match and can trouble the Puerto Rican.
She also needs to start well to gain confidence in herself early.
This is the first meeting between the two players.
Stosur to win in three sets but it will be a nail biting match between the two and Puig can certainly win tonight.
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