Evonne Goolagong Cawley has urged Samantha Stosur to carry her New York state of mind into the French Open starting in Paris on Sunday.

Stosur, the 2010 runner-up, is bidding to become the first Australian woman since Goolagong Cawley 41 years ago to win multiple grand slam singles crowns.

Stosur broke her major duck with a stirring straight-sets US Open final win over Serena Williams in New York last year.

But doubts over Stosur's mental toughness resurfaced over the summer when the 28-year-old admitted struggling under the burden of expectation at the Australian Open, where she crashed out in the first round.

Goolagong Cawley says Stosur needs to harness memories of her dream run in the Big Apple, where she exorcised her mental demons with a series of epic three-set victories before crushing Williams.

''She is hot and cold. A lot of it is mental,'' Goolagong Cawley said.

''It's about finding the right mental state. Sam needs to let it happen.

''She needs to think more of the times when she did win the grand slam, get the inspiration from those moments and think about those moments and maybe that will get her through and maybe make her play consistently well.

''She's proved to herself that she's quite capable of winning grand slams … but she has to get that mindset back.''

But Stosur candidly admits she finds that easier said than done.

''Of course you want to be able to do that,'' the world No.6 said.

''But how exactly are you able to do that when you're playing a match? How do you draw on that experience?

''So I guess it's about focusing on that next point at hand and not getting distracted. If you keep it about the actual tennis, then I do believe that my tennis is good enough.''

■ FORMER world No. 1 Kim Clijsters has announced she will retire after the US Open in September.

The 28-year-old Belgian said she wants to sign out in New York, where she enjoyed the biggest success of her career winning the women's singles title at Flushing Meadow three times in 2005, 2009 and 2010.

''As it stands I will end my career at the US Open,'' she yesterday. ''That is where I enjoyed my greatest triumphs and it is a very special place for me.

''The stadium is only about 45 minutes away from our house in the United States and my parents-in-law will be able to be present.''

Clijsters is married to former US basketball player Brian Lynch and the couple have a daughter Jada.

She retired for a first time in May 2007 and gave birth to her daughter before staging a remarkable comeback in 2009 that ended in her triumph at the US Open, which she successfully defended the following year.

Clijsters also won the Australian Open in 2011, but she has increasingly been dogged by injuries that caused her to withdraw from the claycourt season. AAP