Stosur undecided regarding tournament in January

Australian Samantha Stosur is discovering what it is like to be between a rock and a hard place. Due to Alicia Molik’s absence from the tour, Stosur is being sought after by Paul McNamee as her replacement in the Hopman Cup. Unfortunately for Stosur, her home tournament, the Gold Coast, is also wanting her to play that same week.

From The Age:

DESPITE a season that started so brightly, yet ultimately failed
to ignite, Samantha Stosur is finding herself in sudden demand.
Alicia Molik’s illness has left Australia without a Hopman Cup
anchor and, consequently, Stosur is being courted in two
states.

The Australian No. 2 has been invited to partner Wayne Arthurs
at the teams event in Perth in the first week of January. But the
Hopman Cup clashes with Stosur’s home-town tournament on the Gold
Coast, where she has competed for the past four years and has
valuable rankings points to defend from her run to the 2005
final.

Hopman Cup tournament director Paul McNamee confirmed yesterday
that Stosur was his priority as Molik’s replacement and she is
expected to lean to the Perth tournament.

But Gold Coast tournament director Liz Smylie also wants Stosur
in her field, as an important local drawcard to complement headline
international act Maria Sharapova.

"Obviously, I’d love to have Sam come and play the Mondial
Australian women’s hardcourts," Smylie said yesterday. "It’s her
home event, and she’s done very well here in the past; she’s beaten
a lot of good players."

"Obviously, we’re inviting Sam as next in line, so I’ve made
initial contact but I haven’t got any news at all," McNamee said.
"Sam’s the standout second option, and she clearly fulfils all the
criteria, being quite young and doing really well and also being
very good in doubles, where she won the US Open and is up to No. 4
now."

Asked whether he expected a tug of war to develop with the Gold
Coast tournament, McNamee said: "I don’t think it will because I
think that’s a decision she’s (Stosur’s) got to make. I understand
that delicacy, but I’m sure she’d love to play the Gold Coast and
love to play the Hopman Cup as well, so it’s a matter for her how
she handles that."

Stosur made her senior WTA Tour debut on the Gold Coast in 2002,
reached her first career semi-final there two years later and last
January defeated three of the top-eight seeds to reach a final she
lost to Swiss Patty Schnyder.

Sosur backed up with a Sydney finals appearance the next week,
her Australian form the standout in an otherwise disappointing
singles year. Now being coached by former doubles star Gigi
Fernandez, Stosur is eight places below her career peak of 44th
despite having aimed for a top-30 position by season’s end.

And yet the 21-year-old is suddenly much sought-after, with
Australia’s depth crisis exaggerated by Molik’s decision to take an
extended sabbatical from the game to cure the inner-ear virus
vestibular neuronitis.

Next on the rankings sheet is Nicole Pratt (134), with Evie
Dominikovic one spot behind.

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