Dubai: Four former world number ones will be competing for the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships title when play gets under way in the WTA tournament next week.
Jelena Jankovic is just one of six current top-10 players who will be vying for the prestigious title, and she is joined in Dubai by seven-time Grand Slam winner and two-time Dubai champion Venus Williams, former French Open winner Ana Ivanovic and 2011 Dubai champion Caroline Wozniacki.
“It is rare for so many former number one players to compete in the same event, and the fact they are here reflects the high esteem in which the players hold the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships,” said Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice-Chairman of tournament owners and organisers Dubai Duty Free.
“All four have been coming to Dubai for many years and it is with great pleasure that we welcome them back to what is one of the most popular events on the WTA Tour.”
Williams spent 11 weeks as the world number one and lifted the trophy in Dubai in 2009 and 2010 to follow four-time winner Justine Henin in becoming only the second woman to retain her title.
The veteran American — who has won Olympic gold, five Wimbledon and two US Open titles and reached the final of both the Australian and French Opens — proved she is still a force to be reckoned with as she began the new season by reaching the Auckland final, only to be beaten by another of the former number ones coming to Dubai, Ivanovic.
Ivanovic spent a total of 12 weeks as the world number one after she claimed the French Open crown in 2008.
The Serb is in stunning form after appointing a new coaching team and has begun the year with the title in Auckland and victory over current world number one Serena Williams in the fourth round of the Australian Open.
Ivanovic also debuted here in 2005, as a qualifier, and in her five visits since her best result has been to reach the quarter-finals three times — in 2008, 2009 and 2012.
Her last quarter-final loss was to defending champion Wozniacki, who remained as the world number one for 67 weeks and now has 21 career titles to her name.
As well as her run to the title in 2011, Wozniacki has twice been a semi-finalist — in 2012, when she suffered an unexpected defeat at the hands of Julia Goerges, and in 2013, when she fell to eventual champion Petra Kvitova.
Jankovic topped the rankings in 2008/2009 for 18 weeks as she reached the final of the US Open and she has also made a significant impact in Dubai during her previous eight visits.
The Serb made her Dubai debut in 2005, when she reached the final before falling to Lindsay Davenport. Since then, she has reached the semi-finals on four occasions, the last time on her most recent visit in 2012, and her victims have included Grand Slam champions Martina Hingis, Samantha Stosur and Serena Williams.
Tournament Director Salah Tahlak said: “All four former world number ones will be competing against one of the strongest fields ever to be assembled in Dubai, with 14 of the world’s top 20 players bidding to become the 2014 champion.
“With so many amazing players here, we are guaranteed some superb matches right from day one.”
The field also includes defending champion Kvitova, along with 2012 winner Agnieszka Radwanska, former US Open champion Stosur, the WTA’s most improved player of 2013 and recent Australian Open quarter-finalist Simona Halep, Germany’s number one Angelique Kerber and 2013 Dubai runner-up and recent Paris Indoors finalist Sara Errani.
The women’s tournament runs from February 17 to 22 and is followed by the men’s ATP event from February 24 to March 1, which features defending champion Novak Djokovic, five-time champion Roger Federer, Australian Open semi-finalist Tomas Berdych and world number four Juan Martin Del Potro.
The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships is owned and organised by Dubai Duty Free and is 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.
For more information, log on to www.dubaidutyfreetennischampionships.com or call +971 4 4172415.
