Dubai: Caroline Wozniacki believes she could be on track to reclaim the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship title she first won six years ago, despite facing a stellar field featuring seven of the world’s top-10 in next week’s tournament, which starts on Sunday.
The former World No.1 endured a challenging 2016 as an ankle injury suffered during practice forced the 26-year-old Dane to miss the entire European clay court season, including the French Open.
She was then hindered by an arm injury during the American hard court season and, by the time she reached the US Open, her ranking had slumped to World No.74.
However, the final Grand Slam of the year resulted in a dramatic turn in fortunes for her as she advanced to the semi-finals.
Her inspiring run was halted only by eventual champion Angelique Kerber, and she went on to not only win Tokyo, beating World No.4 and defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska in the semis, but also Hong Kong as she claimed the 25th title of her career.
Now back in the top 20, she has not quite reached the same level so far in 2017, with quarter-finals in Auckland and Sydney and a third round loss to Johanna Konta at the Australian Open. But her confidence remains high.
“I’m just trying to find my footing this year,” she said. “I feel like I have been playing some good tennis, and I’m feeling confident and good about this year. I’m looking forward to the season. It’s a better start than last year. I feel really good body-wise and mentally, which is huge for me. I played really well at the end of last year. Probably some of the best tennis I have ever played, so that was great.”
Her physical well-being is the result of some changes she has made, both with her off-court work and her entourage.
“I guess I’m not a spring chicken anymore,” she said. “Sometimes less is more. But I have really focused on some main parts of my game and really worked hard and tried to prepare as best as I can. For the first time in a long time, [during] the whole off-season I didn’t have any problems. I changed my practice quite a bit, probably spent more time on court than I have in a long time and less time in the gym.
“That was a big change for me, because I have worked so hard on my fitness and trying to prevent injuries, but at the end of the day I think I sometimes need to ease off a little bit. And now I have a full-time physio with me all the time, which has really helped me. I get treatment every day, to keep on top of my body and help me recover. I think that’s actually the main thing for me right now, to always do my best to make sure that my body is fit and healthy.”
Among those challenging Wozniacki for the title will be World No.2 and current US Open champion Angelique Kerber, 2017 Brisbane winner Karolina Pliskova, WTA Finals champion Dominika Cibulkova, World No.6 and former Dubai winner Agnieszka Radwanska, reigning French Open champion Garbine Muguruza, three-time Dubai finalist and current Moscow champion Svetlana Kuznetsova and 2017 Sydney champion Johanna Konta.
Action gets under way first with the WTA event on February 19, followed by the ATP World tour event from February 27. The ATP line-up includes World No.1 Andy Murray; Australian Open champion and seven-time Dubai winner Roger Federer; Dubai defending champion, winner of three Grand Slams and world number three Stan Wawrinka; two-time Dubai finalist Tomas Berdych and World No.9 Gael Monfils.
Tickets are available from the box office at Dubai Tennis Stadium from 9am to 9pm daily and are also available online through http://www.dubaidutyfreetennischampionships.com/en/tickets for more information visit www.dubaidutyfreetennischampionships.com.
