Beaten local hope Samantha Stosur admits the pressure she put on herself to perform at her home Grand Slam played a major role in her disappointing first round defeat to Sorana Cirstea at the Australian Open on Tuesday.
The reigning US Open champion had a huge weight of public expectation on her shoulders in her first match on Rod Laver Arena, but said it was her own lofty ambitions, and not those of her fans, which caused her to tighten up and lose.
"There's nothing probably more than my expectation. I really, really wanted to do well here and over the summer. I did everything I could to try and give myself a good opportunity. It obviously didn't happen," she said.
"I think it's one of those things, of course I know what's out there, but at the end of the day it's what I think, the way I know I can play, the way I think I'm capable of playing."
"It's disappointing for sure. I know that everyone was behind me. It's more disappointing obviously that I don't get another chance to step out on court."
Stosur, who lost in two tight sets to the world No.59, said her mental anxiety turned physical, and she found she was not able to perform at her peak in the hot and windy conditions.
"I think for sure it affects you physically. That's probably the easiest sign for the outside people to see," she said.
"Obviously I know what's going on inside. But, yeah, physically I think it is easy to see that you tighten up, your shoulders do get tight, you don't hit through the ball."
"When anyone's nervous, I think the first thing that goes is your footwork. You don't move your feet as well. Once that breaks down, it's easy for other things to start breaking down."
Stosur had been elevated to national hero status in September when she became the first Australian female in 31 years to win a Grand Slam tournament.
She is well aware she has let her new legion of fans down with her performances in Brisbane, Sydney and now Melbourne, but is adamant that is not for lack of effort.
"It's not through lack of trying or not wanting it or anything like that. I mean, you can't pick the times that you want to play well," she said.
"Of course, I wanted to do very well here. You want it to come right now. I'm thankful that everyone was behind me. I'm sure they will stay behind me."
"That's sport. Unfortunately you can't pick and choose when it's all going to happen for you."
Stosur has now failed to make it past the fourth round in ten attempts at Melbourne Park, but still believes she has what it takes to win her home Grand Slam. She is also not going to let this result destroy the confidence built by her success in New York.
"All you can do is come back next year and keep trying," she said.
"Obviously, it's not hard to improve on a first-round loss. I got the rest of the year obviously. Of course, like I said, I want to do better here. But I can't think that, oh, because this month didn't go the way I wanted it to, the year is shot either."
"It's January. We have till the start of November to find form. I'm sure within that period of time I definitely will play better and play the way I know I can."