Finally, Stosur has broken shackles

FREEDOM is a good look on Sam Stosur.

Free of the expectation. Free of the crippling – and often unfair – criticism. Free of the burden on herself.

And free to put on one last show that might make once-ayear Australian tennis fans look beyond what they saw only at Melbourne Park.

Or, at least give them a lasting memory of positivity that Stosur, who announced in December this would be her last singles tournament, was rarely afforded at home.

Weighed down by suffocating pressure in conditions that never maximised her strengths, she exited the Australian Open in the first round eight times in her previous 19 trips.

Stosur needs to own much of that, because it’s not a record that befits the great player she has been.

They do not hand out grand slam singles titles, or top-five rankings. She is, for all her apparent faults, a tennis national treasure.

Deep down, the harsh critiques from those who should have supported Stosur came from wanting desperately for her to do well.

That much was obvious in the outpouring of joy, relief and well wishes after Stosur’s first-round victory over 169thranked American wildcard Robin Anderson.

She seemed more willing to show positive emotion in key moments and generally looked like she was in her element – in contrast to the tortured soul we sometimes watched.

Stosur did tell us this would be her summer of enjoyment.

“It’s sort of easier, because it’s kind of like, ‘this is your last chance’. If you don’t do it now, you’re never going to have another opportunity,” she said.