Betting Stosur To Come Good After Australian Open Exit
Australian bookmaker Sportsbet is tipping Samantha Stosur to bounce back after suffering another early exit from the Australian Open on Wednesday.
Stosur admitted to choking after failing to see out her second round match against China’s Jie Zheng in Melbourne and has taken a pounding from the national media desperate for home-grown success in the first Grand Slam event of the year.
The number 9 seed was considered the best hope of ending the 35-year drought since an Australian woman lifted the title but the 28 year-old crashed out once again despite twice serving for the match.
The pressure to achieve at her home tournament is immense and Stosur has been found wanting under the weight of expectancy. She was knocked out in the first round of last year’s Australian Open, a matter of months after winning the US Open title in 2011. She admitted to choking after her defeat on Wednesday and said: “Whatever word you want to put on it, at 5-2 up in the third, double break probably is a bit of a choke, yeah,” before adding that the loss was “100 percent” down to mental fragility.
Sportsbet is backing the Aussie ‘with the massive guns’ to hit her straps later in the year. Betting on Stosur’s best Grand Slam finish of the year, the online bookmaker has priced the French and US Opens at $2.38 and Wimbledon at $3.50. Her second round exit in the Australian Open is seen as unlikely to be her best result and is priced at $15.
Shaun Anderson, spokesman for Sportsbet, said: “Surely things can only get better for Sam? Hopefully away from the pressures of the home crowd she can rediscover her form and she has a good track record at both the French and US Open.”
Sportbet is Australia’s top internet betting site after joining forces with major international betting operator, Paddy Power over three years ago. Licences in the Northern Territory, Sportbets accepts punters from around the world and offers new customers a $150 free bet.