Samantha Stosur has suffered a heartbreaking first round exit from the 2018 Australian Open.
One of Australia’s top women’s singles hopes, Stosur was mowed down in a three-set loss to Puerto Rico’s Monica Puig, losing 4-6 7-6 4-6 at Margaret Court Arena.
The first grand slam of the year has not been a happy hunting ground for Stosur, who has been bundled out in the first round for three years running.
Stosur, 33, could put a finger on why she has not been able to advance beyond the first match at her home slam, nor does she particularly care.
“I don’t really think about it, I try and not to worry about it,” she said.
“Look, I was one point away. I’d be in the second round if I won one more point.
“Unfortunately that’s the way it goes sometimes.”
Stosur, ranked 17 spots above her opponent in 41st on the WTA rankings, seemed on track for victory after wrapping up the first set in 32 minutes and holding a break in the second set.
However, Puig showed tremendous determination to take the set to a tie break, eventually waring Stosur down to level the match at a set apiece in a marathon 70-minute second set.
Having played well for the most part, Stosur admits her golden opportunity on match point will bug her for a while to come.
“I think that first set is probably some of the best serving I’ve done in a long time,” she said.
“I think that kind of continued throughout the rest of the match for the most part. I thought my slice was good. I mean, there’s always things you wish you could have maybe done a little bit more.
“I’ve gone over match point about 100 times already in the last 45 minutes.
“I think overall I played a pretty good match. Again, I was as close as you can get without winning.”
Stosur will not prepare to play in the mixed doubles with Sam Groth.
