Dubai: Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro is confident of fulfilling her true potential as a tennis player despite being knocked out in the final qualifying hurdle of the 2013 Dubai Duty Free Women’s Open here on Monday.
Playing Slovakia’s Daniela Hantuchova in the final round of qualifying, Suarez Navarro went down 2-6, 2-6, but left with her head held high.
“All players want a good tournament, and this one is among the best of the tour. So I find it a huge motivation to come here and do well,” the 24-year-old Fed Cup player told Gulf News.
“Among the players there are preferences and Dubai is a much preferred tournament for quite a few. And that includes me as well and that is why I want to do well in the main rounds now,” she added.
Drafted into the Spanish Fed Cup squad in 2008, Suarez Navarro did well during the early years to record her career high singles ranking at No 22 in mid-May 2009.
Last year she had a modest run that included a third-round loss to Kazakhstan’s Yaroslava Shvedova at the French Open followed by a first-round exit at Wimbledon to Samantha Stosur.
The diminutive Spaniard then exacted her revenge with a fighting three-set win over Stosur in the first round at the 2012 London Olympics less than a month later.
On the WTA tour, Suarez Navarro is among a handful of players who effectively use the single-handed backhand in the women’s game drawing comparisons with former world number one Justine Henin.
“Sometimes I experiment with my shot-making and, even though I want to play more doubles, I find that my singles helps my doubles,” she said.
“It is important for me to play and do well. I would rather play bad and do well than play good and lose,” she added.
