Samantha Stosur is on track for Roland Garros despite losing Rome final

SHE has slipped a spot in the rankings, but Samantha Stosur is right where she wants to be heading into next week's French Open.

Maria Sharapova handed Stosur a 6-2 6-4 beating in the Rome Masters final. It was the Russian's first major title on clay.
"I am definitely happy with the title here and I feel better and better," Sharapova said after collecting her 23rd career title.
"Although I might not be the best mover on clay or the best slider or strongest player with the strongest legs, there is a lot more than these things in tennis and that is the reason why I won.
"I'm moving better and I feel better and better with every year."
Stosur, meanwhile, is feeling better with every passing week.
Rome was her first WTA final since losing to Francesca Schiavone at Roland Garros last year. The Australian defeated Schiavone in the quarters in Rome, only the third time she has reached the quarter-finals this year. In 2010 Stosur had made five quarter-finals plus two finals, winning at Charleston before arriving in Paris.
Despite her slower start, the 27-year-old Queenslander has now won nine of her 12 matches so far on European clay.
Her only defeats have come at the hands of Sharapova, fellow Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and eventual Stuttgart champion Julia Goerges.
"I'm disappointed to lose but, as a whole, I thought Maria played quite well and I simply wasn't at my best today," Stosur said. "It wasn't too bad, but it wasn't the final I wanted. But it has been a great week and each week I played in Europe, I got a bit better. It's what you want heading into a grand slam."
Stosur's coach, Dave Taylor, later revealed Stosur had a disrupted Saturday night before the final with a gastro problem.
"Unfortunately she was sick through the night and was unable to eat. It was very unlucky to have that happen for her first final this year," Taylor said.
Stosur has beaten three top-six players in the past three tournaments _ Schiavone, Li Na and Vera Zvonareva _ but slips to No 8 on the WTA computer and Sharapova moved up to No 7.
"Sam's worked very hard to turn things around mentally lately," Taylor said. "She is starting to get rewarded again for being strong when it counts."
Stosur would drop out of the top 10 if she fails to make the second week at Roland Garros. Her march to last year's French Open final means she has a host of points to defend.
She admitted it was a slow start against Sharapova, who won 16 of the first 19 points. But Stosur said her confidence has not been rocked. "To be honest, when I woke up this morning I didn't feel too good," she said.
"My reactions were just not there and going down 4-0 against Maria is not the start that you want."
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