Reigning US Open Champion Samantha Stosur has looked nothing like the player who clinched her first Grand Slam title this year at Flushing Meadows. As we return to her favorite surface and start the build up to this year's US Open the Aussie will be hoping for a change in fortune as she prepares to battle Simona Halep from Romania.

Stosur has had to endure a difficult year so far. She lost in the opening rounds at Sydney and then again in Australian Open. In February a much improved Stosur reached the finals of the Qatar Total Open, but lost to Victoria Azarenka. Her form fell once again in March and she disappointed in Miami and Indian Wells. April was another tumultuous month for the Aussie as she continued to crumble. In Stuttgart she lost in the quarters to Maria Sharapova in three sets after holding a match point at 5-3 in set 2. Her clay court season was only salvaged by her Roland Garros run as she reached the semis of the event eventually losing to breakthrough Italian Sara Errani.

At Wimbledon and the Olympics, Stosur struggled to make any form of impact and ended up a losing early in both the tournaments as she struggled to cope with the grass courts. Her win-loss record stands at 28-15 this year.

Her opponent today – Simona Halep is ranked 48 in the world and has a win-loss record of 21-17 this year. The Romanian has had a very mediocre year and has just moved 5 places above her end of year ranking of 53 in 2011.

The two have played each other twice before and Stosur has won both their matches in straight sets.

TennisEarth picks an easy win for the Aussie here.