Sam Stosur's warning for Ash Barty ahead of huge Aus Open run
Having tried and failed herself, Samantha Stosur believes Ashleigh Barty must reveal her selfish side if she's to break Australia's 41-year Australian Open title drought next month.
As a dual grand slam finalist and the 2011 US Open champion, Stosur carried the hopes of the nation into the annual summer of tennis for years while entrenched in the world's top 10.
But the pressure on world No.1 Barty will be next level when the 23-year-old arrives in Melbourne as Australia's first women's top seed at the Open since Dianne Fromholtz in 1977.
As if the home-town hype won't be enough of a burden for Barty, such is the depth and unpredictability of women's tennis that only two top-ranked players have won slams in the past five years - Simona Halep and the great Serena Williams.
Williams was the last women's top seed to win the Open in 2015.
"It's definitely not that easy," Stosur told AAP.
"That's what I felt when I won the US Open that year and then came into the AO as the next grand slam and it's not that easy to do that.
"I think what Ash has got in her favour compared to what I had is she actually has already played well at the Australian Open.
"She made quarters this year, the finals of Sydney, whereas I kind of struggled in the Australian conditions and that first little chunk of the year has never really been so easy for me.
"So I think that in itself is going to help her, but it's totally a different kettle of fish now going into it as world No.1."
Stosur suspects everyone from fans to media and sponsors will want a piece of Barty over the summer.
"But she keeps things pretty low key and down to earth and I'm sure the people around her who have gone through this whole experience this year would have learnt a whole stack of things," said Barty's fellow Queenslander and Fed Cup teammate.
"They would have thought, 'Alright, January, this is our plan and this is how we're going to do things and we're going to stick to it'.
"It's different but I'm sure she can handle it."
Stosur backs Barty’s summer preparations
Asked what advice she had for the French Open champion, Stosur said: "Probably just don't read into too much and think about your own expectations and what you want to achieve more than anyone else.
"You don't have to go and please anyone else. You play for you, you do what you really strongly believe in and that's all that really matters.
"Then you're going to perform to your best capabilities."
While the conversion rate for women's top seeds in Melbourne is low, Stosur is convinced Barty is equipped to win the Open and maybe many more slams to come.
"She would never have dreamed of winning the French Open so once we've seen that she's capable of doing that, god, who knows what she's going to be able to do for the rest of her career," Stosur said.
"She's still young and obviously has the ability to do great things."
