Perth: Polish world number five Agnieszka Radwanska said Monday she hopes her new partnership with women’s tennis great Martina Navratilova can finally bring the maiden Grand Slam title she craves.
Radwanska recently joined forces with the 18-time Grand Slam singles winner to prepare for 2015 in a bid to end her frustrating run in the majors.
Although the 25-year-old has been ranked as high as second in the world, she has only reached one Grand Slam final, at Wimbledon in 2012 when she was beaten by Serena Williams.
Last year she appeared to be on target to break through when she reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open as leading contenders fell by the wayside, only to be upset by Dominika Cibulkova.
Speaking in Perth as she opened her preparation for the upcoming Australian Open with an impressive win over world number 29 Casey Dellacqua at the Hopman Cup, Radwanska said the union was already paying dividends after a week on the practice court together in Miami.
Although Navratilova is not in Perth, Radwanska said she would arrive in Australia next week, with the Pole rounding out her Australian Open preparation in Sydney.
“I am very happy she is a member of the team and I was in Miami before here so we practise together,” Radwanska said.
“She is coming to Sydney and Melbourne of course, so far so good and we will see how it is going to be.
“Grand Slams - I didn’t make it yet - so I’m trying everything to win those slams.... With that I think she can help me out a lot.
“We are going to try everything.”
Radwanska said she was fully fit for the start of the new season.
By appointing the former champion as her coach, Radwanska follows a recent trend in men’s tennis, with Andy Murray hiring Ivan Lendl to help end his own Grand Slam drought.
Swiss great Roger Federer has been working with former Swedish star Stefan Edberg since last year, while Novak Djokovic has Boris Becker in his team.
