Dubai
Former world number one Caroline Wozniacki can draw inspiration and cherish her friendship with the Williams sisters, but she doubts she can extend her tennis career like the American tennis stars have done.
In Dubai for the annual Dubai Tennis Championships, Wozniacki has been crowned champion here once [2011] while making it to three semi-finals on the trot in the past three years. However, the 24-year-old Dane harbours no intentions of either matching or bettering the longevity of the Williams sisters.
So while she is still playing, she might as well make use of the opportunities to explore new locations that come her way during the course of the season. “I’ve been on the tour for quite some time now. But in the end you just don’t know how long you are going to play. I decided a few years back that I am just going to take advantage of the places I am going to visit. Just enjoy a little bit, and that’s what I have been doing while enjoying the culture of different places,” Wozniacki told media here at the customary round table conference.
“Or who knows you might get injured and you might not play again. Or you might not want to play. For now I’m just enjoying what I am doing. You only live once and when you get to these important places then it would be sad if you spend so many years on Tour and have just not get to see and experience anything,” she added.
Having come to Dubai early, Wozniacki got time to go to the desert and try a bit of sandboarding on Saturday. “I am not a big museum person, but I would enjoy doing specific things in particular cities. I would go do sandboarding or go to the water park here. In Paris I want to walk around and have a feel of the city and in New York I want to just explore. I really don’t have a list. It is something that is really spontaneous,” she related.
Well past 30, the Williams sisters Venus and Serena are a huge inspiration for the Danish player, who was a world number one for 67 weeks in 2010 and 2011. “I don’t think I would be playing at that age. Both of them have done so much for the game over such a long period of time. Venus has been so great especially after her sickness and she came back and is now on top of her game. What they’ve done for tennis has been amazing. I don’t know what it would be with me,” Wozniacki related.
Since the past couple of years, Wozniacki has shared a close friendship with Serena, something she is proud of. “Serena spoke to me and said ‘when I was your age I too said the same thing [how long she would last on the Tour], and look where I am now’. I am still playing and right now I don’t see myself stopping soon,” she added.
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