Dubai: Agnieszka Radwanska will be one of the strongest challengers for the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships title later this month, with every chance that she will be able to put the disappointment of her second round exit at the Australian Open behind her and repeat her 2012 Dubai triumph.
She heads into the tournament full of confidence after reaching the recent Sydney final, knowing she has the award-winning skills to dazzle and confuse her opponents. She is widely known as The Magician and La Profesora because of the breathtaking shots she can produce, and at the end of last season and for the fourth year in a row she received the WTA Shot Of The Year award for a winner she made against Monica Niculescu at Indian Wells.
“Agnieszka Radwanska has always been a popular competitor in Dubai and it is with great pleasure that we welcome her back for the 10th time,” said Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice-Chairman and CEO of Dubai Duty Free, the tournament owners and organisers. “She possesses extraordinary agility and versatility which has taken her to a Wimbledon final and earned her so much success against the very best over many years, and we look forward to seeing once again one of the most entertaining players on the WTA Tour.”
Last season the 27 year old from Poland reached six semi-finals including the Australian Open and the WTA Finals in Singapore, and she added three more titles to her portfolio, beginning her year with victory in Shenzhen, adding New Haven in late summer and then rounding out 2016 by lifting the trophy in Beijing.
If Radwanska is to repeat her previous success in Dubai then she will have to be at her best against a world-class field that includes eight of the world’s top 10 that includes world No. 2 and two-time Grand Slam winner Angelique Kerber, French Open champion Garbine Muguruza, WTA Finals winner Dominika Cibulkova, three-time Dubai finalist and double Grand Slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, 2016 US Open finalist Karolina Pliskova and recent Sydney winner Johanna Konta.
“Agnieszka Radwanska clearly still has what it takes to win any tournament she enters and her desire after so many years at the top is undiminished,” said Tournament Director Salah Tahlak. “We can look forward to seeing more of her exceptional talent as she competes in one of the strongest tournaments on the WTA Tour.”
The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, which takes place between 19 February and 4 March, is owned and organised by Dubai Duty Free, and held under the patronage of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
Staged at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium in Garhoud, the action will commence on 19 February with the WTA Premier 5 event, followed on 27 February with the ATP 500 tournament offering a combined prize pool of US$5.2 million.
Tickets for every day of the event including the finals are still available from the Box Office at the Dubai Tennis Stadium, Garhoud which opens from 9am to 9pm daily. Tickets are also available online through http://www.dubaidutyfreetennischampionships.com/en/tickets For further information about tickets, prices and the tournament visit www.dubaidutyfreetennischampionships.com
