Stosur responds to Queensland heat

A RETURN to the Sunshine State and slip down the rankings has primed Sam Stosur for a bumper Australian summer.

While Stosur spent time with Looney Tunes characters at Movie World yesterday there is nothing loony about her latest training switch-up.

The 2011 US Open champion has spent most of her pre-season in Queensland, a change from warming up for the Australian Open by training in Sydney and Melbourne.

The Gold Coast product’s struggles on home soil have been well documented, with the pressure of being Australia’s top-ranked female seemingly taking its toll.

But that mantle now belongs with fellow Queenslander Ash Barty (world No.17), with Stosur dropping below Daria Gavrilova (No.25) after suffering a hand injury at the French Open.

Stosur, 33, will play the Brisbane International from December 31 and hopes her Queensland preparation will lead to one of her strongest Aussie summers.

“For the first time in many years I’m doing a fair bit of my preseason training in Queensland,” she said.

“My coach [Josh Eagle] is a Queenslander, so it works out well for us to both be here.

“Hopefully being in these warmer, hotter conditions every day will be good for me. I’ve been working pretty hard and feeling good about where I am right now.

“The more wins you have straight up the better you feel. Everything seems to fall into place better. That confidence rises and everything seems so much easier.”

Stosur has never been past the fourth round at the Australian Open in a glittering career that has seen her win a US Open and make a French Open final (2010).

The pressure that has come with being the golden girl of Australian tennis has been seen as a factor behind her failures on home soil but that mantle now sits with Barty and Gavrilova.

“It’s nice to have that No.1 next to your name but at the end of the day, you go into every match the same,” Stosur said.

“No matter what your ranking, you’re going to have to be ready to play well straight up.”