Wozniacki eyes 2nd Dubai tennis title
dubai — Former world number 1 Caroline Wozniacki will be seeking to get back to her winning ways as she embarks upon her chase for a second title at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships when play gets underway in just five days from now, a press release said.
The 2011 champion suffered a stuttering start to the season, losing in the second round in Auckland to a qualifier ranked 152 before the defence of her Australian Open title was ended by Maria Sharapova in the third round in Melbourne.
But rather than dwell on such setbacks, they only serve to spur her on to greater efforts. She relishes the challenge any of her opponents represent.
“I’m a competitor. I love to win. I hate to lose. I hate losing more than I love winning,” she said after her Melbourne defeat. “You know, that’s what drives you. That’s what drives me to try and be better and to improve and, you know, playing the best players in the world and trying to win the big tournaments. That’s why I’m here. That’s what I want to do.”
As well as on-court opponents, the amiable Dane has another that she has to deal with. After Wimbledon last year she discovered that she is suffering from rheumatoid arthritis.
“In the beginning, it was a shock,” she said.
“You feel like you’re the fittest athlete out there. That’s what I’m known for, and all of a sudden you have this to work with. Some days you wake up and you can’t get out of bed but other days you’re fine. You don’t even feel like you have it. You just have to be positive and work with it.”
And proof that she has been able to work around her situation came towards the end of last season, when she captured the 30th title of her career in Beijing.
“Caroline Wozniacki has been a fan favourite over many years wherever she has played, and we are proud that she represents Dubai Duty Free as an ambassador throughout the world, alongside our reigning champion Elina Svitolina and recent world No. 1 Simona Halep,” said Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of Dubai Duty Free.
“Caroline Wozniacki has a remarkable record at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, reaching the semifinals or better on her last six visits,” added Tournament Director Salah Tahlak.
The 28-year-old Wozniacki faces a challenging week as part of a Dubai Duty Free field that includes world number Naomi Osaka, Romanian Simona Halep, Elina Svitolina, Karolina Pliskova, Garbine Muguruza and Jelena Ostapenko.