Without a last-16 appearance at her past five majors, Samantha Stosur is searching for something to spark a grand slam revival.
But Australia’s top-ranked player is confident she can find it on the red clay courts of Roland Garros over the next fortnight.
While Stosur again looms as Australia’s brightest prospect at the French Open, starting on Sunday, she’ll have to halt a worrying slump in big tournaments to put herself in title contention.
Stosur has not progressed past the third round of a grand slam since reaching the quarter-finals during her US Open title defence in 2012.
The frustrating run has resulted in a rankings slide to world No.20 but Stosur insists she’s no grand slam has-been.
The claycourt major remains close to Stosur’s heart, having reached the last four three times in the past, and she sees it as the perfect place to turn things around.
“Why not? It’s a tournament I love and I know I’ve played well here,” Stosur told AAP.
“On this surface, the centre court and everything else, there is as good a chance here as any and if I could do that (win grand slam) again I’d be very, very happy.”
Stosur was the French Open runner-up in 2010 and made the semis in 2009 and 2012.
She looked to be building strong momentum in the early rounds last year before a third-round loss to Jelena Jankovic.
Twelve months on Stosur is still trying to recapture her best form, with the appointment of coach Miles Maclagan in December yet to yield any significant improvement in results, but her belief remains strong.
Wins on clay this month over grand slam runners-up Dominika Cibulkova and Sabine Lisicki, in Madrid and Rome respectively, have provided a timely confidence boost.
“I believe my ability and capability is there,” said Stosur, whose season win-loss record stands at 15-12.
“It’s obviously a matter of going out and doing it and improving each day.”
Stosur will likely be seeded 19th, her lowest mark in a grand slam in five years, raising the possibility of running into a tournament big gun as early as the third round.
She is joined in the women’s draw by compatriots Casey Dellacqua, whose ranking has improved steeply to 48 on the back of an impressive 16-7 start to the season, and teenage wildcard Ashleigh Barty.
Veteran Lleyton Hewitt leads the Australian men’s contingent and is a nightmare early-round prospect for some of the men’s top seeds, though his focus will be firmly on Wimbledon next month.
Court time looks the main priority for Bernard Tomic as he continues his recovery from hip surgery while Marinko Matosevic has shown some encouraging form as he looks to break his 12-0 grand slam duck.
Nick Kyrgios, who beat Czech veteran Radek Stepanek on his grand slam debut at Roland Garros last year, has earned another wildcard berth this year while fellow young gun Thanassi Kokkinakis is among several Australian men looking to clinch a start through qualifying.
The men’s and women’s singles draws take place on Friday (1930 AEST).
