Can Kvitova or Errani spring a surprise?

Dubai: While most of the attention at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships next week will fall on world No 1 and two-time Australian Open winner Victoria Azarenka and Serena Williams, holder of the Wimbledon, Olympic and US Open crowns, they will not be alone as strong challengers for the title.

Petra Kvitova has proved over and over again that she can win at the very highest level by not only reaching No 2 in the rankings and lifting the Wimbledon trophy in 2011, but also leading the Czech Republic to the Fed Cup title in 2011 and 2012.

Another player capable of staging an upset is Sara Errani, who last year was the most improved elite player on the WTA Tour. She enjoyed an astonishing rise up the rankings in 2012, beginning the year ranked 45 and ending at No 6. Her success in singles was matched on the doubles court too, where she rose from 27 to world No 1.

This year the Italian has continued in similar fashion by reaching the final of the Paris Indoor event in singles, while in doubles she advanced to the Sydney final before winning titles at the Australian Open and Paris.

“Although both Petra Kvitova and Sara Errani have struggled to make an impression here in the past they have enjoyed enormous success elsewhere,” said Colm McLoughlin, executive vice-chairman of tournament owners and organisers Dubai Duty Free. “Both have shown that they can overcome the toughest opposition and it will be very interesting indeed to see if they can repeat their success against a field that is second to none.”

Kvitova will be anxious to continue her recent improvement in what had been a modest start to her 2013 season, with success at the Dubai Tennis Stadium.

Her Australian tour was disappointing, as after winning just one match in Brisbane and falling in the first round in Sydney, she was ousted from the Australian Open by Britain’s Laura Robson in a marathon second-round battle that ended 11-9 in the third set. She then won just one round at the Paris Indoor event, but bounced back in style last week by winning both her Fed Cup matches against Australia.

Just as she put early-season disappointment behind her with those victories, she will be hoping that it will be third time lucky for her in Dubai. In both of her previous visits, she lost her opening match, but despite that she is eager to return and try again.

“I’m really looking forward to coming back to Dubai this year,” she said. “I didn’t have the best start to the year in Australia, but hopefully after Fed Cup I can turn that around. I will try and show my best tennis on the court.”

Good results count for a lot of course, but there are other things that have drawn Kvitova back to Dubai.

“I like the fact that the crowd is quiet and respectful during matches,” she said. “I enjoy the beautiful site, with the swimming pool and the gardens, very much. I love seeing the sun every time I come to Dubai, especially after a cold winter in Europe. We are usually very busy during the tournament, but I would love to see more of Dubai. Maybe this time I will have time to go to the city and do some good shopping.”

Like Kvitova, success in Dubai has been hard to come by for Errani, although she has come up against formidable opposition in her two previous bids for the title. On the first occasion she clashed with world No 1 Serena Williams in the second round and fell in three sets, and the next time she met world No 5 Samantha Stosur at the same stage.

Since their last visit in 2011 both Kvitova and Errani have firmly established themselves at the top of the game and each has proved themselves capable of great things on the court.

The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, which takes place from February 18 to March 2, 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.