Name - Samantha Stosur
Age - 26 years
Birth Place - Brisbane, Australia
Height - 5 ft. 8 inches
Plays - Right handed
French Open played - 6
Best Result - 2009 Semifinalist
Best Career result - Winner - Charleston (WTA Premier)
Titles - 2
Rank - 7

French Open always sets the stage for the most talented and deserving players in the tennis world. Some leave the fortnight of gliteratti with a satisfactory performance, and others mull over the shocking losses handed by the underdogs. And then there is the other kind that does not stop till the penultimate success comes their way. Samantha Stosur belongs to the third category for sure as with a swashbuckling victory over Serena Williams in the quarterfinals, the Australian has returned to the last four of the French Open.

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The secret behind Stosur's success is the positive attitude towards her career, singles in specific. Where most doubles specialist become complacent with their success in the team events, this mighty Australian understood the intensity of her talent and fetched success eventually. Her semifinal appearance last year at Roland Garros was termed by many as a 'flash in the plan'. But gradually she proved her critics wrong and claimed her maiden WTA singles title, followed by an impressive win over Serena Williams during a U.S. Open series event.

More success followed when she performed exceptionally well in Indian Wells and Miami and finally clinched her first Tier-I title in Charleston. With back-to-back wins over Justine Henin and Serena Williams, she has suddenly emerged as the favourite to win the title at Roland Garros this year. The best aspect in Stosur's game is her ability to play strong from both the baseline and at the net. Her serving prowess adds to the complete package that her game is on the red clay.

At such a Grand level, the decisive factor is the mental toughness and we saw the best of it in both of Stosur's previous matches when she put aside the pressure and held her nerves to register wins over two of the finest players of the decade. All these attributes make Samantha Stosur a real contender for this year's crown. Whether she will go all the way at the year's second major or not is a question yet to be answered.

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