Stosur in women’s top three, says coach

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PARIS - Australian tennis ace Samantha Stosur’s coach, Dave Taylor, has said that the she must be rated as one of the best three women’s tennis players in the world following her performances at the French Open.

Stosur has accelerated her rise to the top with victories over four-time champion Justine Henin, World No. 1 Serena Williams and former World No. 1 Jelena Jankovic.

She will play Italy’s Francesca Schiavone in the women’s singles final on Saturday.

“It has been the tournament of her life and a great stepping stone to establishing herself as a top player. It has been a very significant fortnight,” The Age quoted Taylor, as saying.

“It is fair to say she is top three, but she has to back up what she has done this first half of the year and that is obviously something very special. We will see but when a player has belief and weapons, that is everything,” he added.

Taylor, however, said that it was hard to predict how the 26-year-old would perform at Wimbledon later this month.

“Wimbledon is a tough surface for Sam, a lot of challenges are provided for Sam on that surface. She has to improve her volleying and her awareness of where to stand after certain shots and improve her slice serve. She has improved her slice backhand,” Taylor said.

“It is going to be a bit of a work in progress on grass, but who knows if (Rafael) Nadal can win it after winning here (in Paris), she has to have the attitude that anything is possible,” he added. (ANI)