American tennis legend Chris Evert has tipped Samantha Stosur as a potential surprise contender at Wimbledon as the Australian prepares to head into the grand slam without a coach.
Stosur is believed to have parted from with British coach Miles Maclagan on the eve of the year’s biggest event, after just seven months working together.
The split has yet to be confirmed, but Stosur is expected to front the media on Friday.
With the bulk of her success earned on clay and hard courts, Stosur has struggled to make an impact at the grass court grand slam, never making it past the third round.
But three-time Wimbledon champion Evert says there’s no reason the 17th seeded-Australian can’t be a title contender, provided she can overcome her mental demons.
“You could look at Sam Stosur (as a chance), players that have all-around versatile games, that are good athletes,” Evert said on Thursday.
“I think grass favours the athleticism because you have to have good balance and know how to move smoothly on the grass.”
Stosur matched her best effort in reaching the third round at SW19 last year, showing glimpses of her potential on the surface in a loss to eventual runner-up Sabine Lisicki.
Evert believes the problem on grass has been in Stosur’s mind, rather than anything to do with her game.
“She’s got a beautiful game. She could do it all. It’s just about her nerves,” the American said.
“I think what she needs to do is look back at the matches that she had leads, top players on the ropes, matches that she got nervous and lost.
“You have to recognise your past before you move on to your future.
“Then she’s got to figure out ‘if I’m in this situation again, I’m going to react differently’.
“You have to talk yourself into reacting differently.
“It’s all psychological with her. She just needs to have more confidence in herself, in her game, just try to control those nerves a little better.”
Stosur hired MacLagan, who previously worked with Andy Murray, Laura Robson and Marcos Baghdatis, after ending her six-year partnership with Dave Taylor last year.
The new combination failed to yield any significant improvement in results earlier in the year, though Stosur impressed in reaching the fourth round at last month’s French Open before falling to eventual champion Maria Sharapova.