Stosur to use six-month rule
Stosur to use six-month rule 
By Paul Malone
Former Australian Captain December 31, 2007
SIDELINED Sam Stosur made a sad visit to the hometown tournament she will now never win Sunday and vowed to give her recovery from viral meningitis all the time it needs.
Stosur said at the Australian Women’s Hardcourts tournament that delaying her return until March meant she could maintain a WTA protected ranking in the 30s.
Stosur’s ranking has fallen to No. 46 since July
when she contracted the virus and she is facing the loss of all ranking points from her 2007 Gold Coast quarter-final and second-round exits from the Sydney International and the Australian Open.
But if Stosur returns in March she will be able to choose eight tournaments over 12 months from the date of her comeback event in which the protected ranking will apply.
“If I stay out six months, I’m eligible for it. I’d be what ranking I was after the US Open (in September),” she said.
“It’s better than to be what I’ll be at the end of the month. It’s weird being here and not being on court, but I have to give my body time to recover.”
Stosur is unable to train for more than two or three days in succession.
“When there’s no unusual fatigue after two or three days of training, I’ll know I’ve turned the corner - or when I don’t need a sleep in the afternoon after I’ve been for a run. It’s just a matter of time,” she said.
Stosur, 23, lives a 10-minute drive from the Hardcourts venue at Royal Pines and is dismayed she will not have another chance to win the Gold Coast event, which will be merged with the Adelaide men’s event to form January 2009’s $1 million-plus Brisbane International.
“It’s kind of sad I won’t get another shot,” the 2005 Gold Coast finalist said. “I’m sure I’ll play when it moves to Brisbane, which will still be in the state, just not my home city.”
Stosur said that her coach when she came back would be Fed Cup captain David Taylor, a former mentor of Martina Hingis and Alicia Molik.
“I’ve come to the tournament to do some paperwork, see a few friends and talk to the physios,” she said.
“I’ll keep watching the tennis (on television) after I train. I always like watching the Aussie Open matches, even when I’m down there.”
Stosur’s coach at the US Open, American Adam Peterson, has returned to work with Lindsay Davenport.
