At 35, Samantha Stosur admits time is running out if she is to end a hoodoo at her home tournament and capture the Brisbane International.
The former US Open champion – having pledged to donate $200 to Australia’s bushfire relief for every ace she serves this summer – said she had not given up on finally giving Queensland fans one of their own to cheer on in a women’s final.
“You want that to happen,” she said of Brisbane International success. “But sometimes when you want something so bad it doesn’t quite happen.”
Stosur said she was buoyed by a strong finish to the 2019 season in which she made the Guangzhou International Women’s Open final and the WTA Finals doubles semi-finals with Zhang Shuai.
She hoped the stage was set to finally live up to local expectations in what loomed as one of her final cracks at the Brisbane title.
“The last part (of 2019) through China especially was really rewarding for me both on the singles and doubles court,” Stosur said.
No body serves from @bambamsam30 this Summer – for every ace she serves, she’ll donate $200 to bushfire relief.
More on @TennisAustralia’s Aces for Bushfire Relief program 👉🏼 https://t.co/UULFg9D3Dh pic.twitter.com/x7474W2QWG
— #BrisbaneTennis (@BrisbaneTennis) January 3, 2020
“It’s always nice to finish (the year) with a highlight and going into the New Year thinking ‘that finished well now I have to try and pick it all up again’.
“And besides who knows when I will be able to play here in Brisbane again?”
In light of the devastating bushfires sweeping Australia, Stosur joined a growing list of players who pledged donations to relief efforts on Friday.
She admitted she was not all that surprised at the swell in support from across Australia’s sporting landscape.
“It’s fantastic that so many of the players are getting on board with it,” Stosur said. “I think collectively, tennis, we do a pretty good job of trying to help out.
“For me, personally, I’ve actually been to a lot of these spots, I’ve been camping there and knowing what it’s like, how beautiful it is, the animals, the people obviously, the firefighters it’s just so sad to see.
“I think that anything we can do to try and help that is something we should try to get behind.”
After carrying local hopes for so long, Stosur had no problem with the focus switching to fellow Queenslander and world No.1, Ashleigh Barty in Brisbane this week.
Stosur admitted she could take some pointers from Barty, a player 12 years her junior.
“Although she is younger than me she has achieved incredible things in the last year,” Stosur said of her compatriot.
“She is right at the top of the sport. I can probably learn more from her now than she could learn from me.”