Dubai: Fast-improving Ukrainian Elena Svitolina is looking at the bigger picture as she sets her ambitions on being the best tennis player in the world.
The 22-year-old, who is currently poised at a career-high No. 13 in the world rankings, has been on a roll so far this season. She opened the season with a semi-final loss to Karolina Pliskova at the Brisbane Open, followed by a third round loss in three sets to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova at the Australian Open.
However, she made amends with a straight-set win against Shuai Peng of China at the Taipei City Open in Taiwan and followed this up with two wins in both singles in Ukraine’s decisive Fed Cup win against Australia earlier this month.
“My main goal is to be number one in the world. So I am always motivated to win tournaments and to win more titles. This year, I have won one [Taipei], so I am looking forward to 2017. I have worked really hard during the pre-season, so it’s going to be hard, but I am looking forward to new challenges,” Svitolina told media after the draws ceremony held on Saturday.
“I try not to look too far ahead. I have this goal, a big picture before me. But I am looking to just give my best each day, at each practice session and at each tournament I want to give off 100 per cent and then we will see how it goes,” she added.
Coached by Gabriel Urpi and Thierry Ascione as a coaching consultant since last year, Svitolina was introduced to tennis when she was barely five years old. So one-minded was her focus that she had gone on to win the juniors title at Roland Garros by the time she was just 15 years old. “It’s been good for me. I now have a new team, so it’s something different. But I am always up for challenges, for something new. So I am looking forward to the year as everything looks good,” she smiled.
Seeded No. 7 in Dubai, the Ukrainian is eager to do well here. “I am really excited for this tournament, for this week. I have been here since Tuesday, so I have had some time to recover after the Fed Cup and to get ready. I am looking forward to my match [against either Spaniard Lara Arruabarrena]. It’s going to be a very tough week for everyone. There are lots of good players. So it’s going to be very exciting for Dubai and for the fans,” she predicted.
The youngster has sort of scant respect for the more established players. Last year, Svitolina beat Serena Williams when the American was No. 1, and earlier this year, she scalped Angelique Kerber when the German reigned briefly at the top of women’s tennis. “Yes, such wins give me extra motivation and confidence at the same time. I try to analyse all the time all the matches I play, take the good things and work on the things that didn’t work,” she related.
“So I try to take my time after tournaments, after matches to prepare for the next step because it is very important to look forward and to give your best,” she added.
Ultimately, pitted against the 30-something, Svitolina has had her strategy worked out. “They [older players] have been on tour for many years, so they have lots of experience and they are playing very smart. Physically, they are still very, very strong. So I think, for us younger players, we need some more time and we need to adopt new things,” Svitolina said.
“Still, there have been a couple of [younger] players who have been in the top-10 already. So it is possible, but all the things need to come together. It just takes a little bit of time,” she hoped.
