With the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship just two weeks away, one player who is raring to go is Petra Kvitova in the WTA event.
Just last month she was being touted as the next big thing in tennis, winning the Wimbledon last year and headed for the World No1 spot. However, it all went wrong at the Australian Open when her loss to Maria Sharapova in the semi-finals saw her No1 ranking and second Grand Slam aspirations wash away. Victoria Azarenka is the new ‘it’ girl of tennis at the moment after she went on to win her first Grand Slam title in Melbourne.
Kvitova, however will be looking to get back to winning ways in Dubai.
Last year the 21-year old got out in the first round in Dubai to 57th ranked Ayumi Morita. The Czech has come a long way since then and will be one of the favourites to win the title.
“Many people were surprised when Petra Kvitova won Wimbledon last year, but she proved she was not a two-week wonder by adding a number of other prestigious titles as the year progressed,” said Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman of tournament owners and organisers Dubai Duty Free. “We are delighted to welcome her back here once again and look forward to seeing one of the most exciting players to have emerged from the Czech Republic in many years.”
Following her Wimbledon success, Kvitova went on to win the end-of-season WTA Championships as well as lead her country to the Fed Cup title. In addition to Wimbledon and Paris, she also won titles in Brisbane, Madrid and Linz, to show her versatility on different surfaces. This year she kept up her form from last year as she teamed with Tomas Berdych to win the Hopman Cup, before reaching the semi-finals of both Sydney and the Australian Open.
Her outstanding success has not gone unnoticed and it has resulted in her winning several awards, including WTA Player Of The Year, Most Improved Player Of The Year, Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award (voted for by her fellow players) and Fan Favourite Breakthrough Player.
However if she expects this year’s Dubai Championship to be any easier, she is highly mistaken. Dubai will be having all four Grand Slam winners playing this year, along with defending champion Caroline Wozniacki. French Open winner Li Na and US Open winner Sam Stosur, along with Azarenka will be looking to grab the title as well.
It is fitting to have the biggest names in tennis participating for the 2012 Dubai Tennis Championship as the tournament will be celebrating their 20th anniversary. The organisers have planned loads of activities off the court as well, an added bonus for the spectators.
The WTA tour event starts on the 20th of February with the ATP event a week later on the 27th.
