The French Open begins next week, and for the first time in 25 years, there is an Aussie girl at number 7 in the world. Not since Wendy Turnbull in 1985 have we had a female tennis player occupying such lofty heights, and this week Samantha Stosur took her place in the WTA Rankings.
This is well overdue for such a promising talent – a semi-finalist at Roland Garros last year – and she has been in red hot form on clay this year, winning 14 of her 16 matches on the slow surface.
Her only defeats have come against four-time French Open champion Justine Henin in last month’s Stuttgart final and to Venus Williams in Madrid. So really, we can forgive her for those, given the top level experience Henin and Williams share.
So can Sam finally crack the big time?
Well, if she gets a favourable draw on Friday, then she is definitely worth putting a few dollars on. If nothing else, the last few months have proved that “attitude and composure” can be the difference on the court. And with the big names in tennis, the Williams sisters, Clijsters, Safina, and Sharapova, all performing inconsistently recently, I believe all that stands between Stosur and lifting the trophy at Roland Garros is a tiny, but powerful Belgian named Justine Henin.
Sam collected her maiden career title on clay last month in Charleston, and her coach David Taylor justifiably rated her one of the leading chances to reign in Paris.
And I’m with him.
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