Former French Open finalist Samantha Stosur, warmed up for her bid in Paris this year, by defeating French player Kristina Mladenovic 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 to win the WTA Strasbourg Open on Saturday. The 31-year-old Australian, who defeated Serena Williams to win the 2011 US Open, picks up her seventh individual title after outlasting Mladenovic on the east coast of France.
The Brisbane right-hander reached a career high of four in the world in 2011, on the back of her triumph in New York, and is now on the brink of breaking back into the global top 20. She lost the 2010 French Open final against Italian Francesca Schiavone in straight sets but won the doubles' crown in 2006 with American Lisa Raymond. Mladenovic is one of the rising talents in the French women's game but misses out on a second WTA title as she heads to the French capital bidding to improve on her third round performance last year. Roland Garros gets underway on Sunday.