Ride Winning Wave in Dubai

Aryna Sabelanka aims to ride the winning wave in Dubai.

Empowered by her run to her maiden major championship at last month’s Australian Open, Sabalenka seeks to use her Melbourne moment as motivation to maintain momentum in her return to the tour in Dubai.

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“I want more,” Sabalenka told the media in Dubai. “I have more motivation to work hard to feel that again. It’s changed something in my mind, but I still have to work hard to prove I’m in the right place.

“It’s nice to achieve your goals, but you still have to work, nothing has changed there. Now we’re in Dubai, I don’t know if it’s going to be the same. I am doing my best to keep improving and keep winning. It would be really cool to win in Dubai.”

A year ago, Sabalenka landed in Dubai as the top seed only to suffer the ignominy of a straight-sets loss to 2013 champion Petra Kvitova in the round of 32.

Fast forward a year, and with 17 of the world’s Top-20 players in this year’s field at Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium, the second-seeded Sabalenka is conscious of avoiding another early exit.

Sabalenka has a first-round bye and will face either Swiss Jil Teichmann or Anastasia Potapova in her opener.

“The draw is really strong,” Sabalenka said. “I like this tournament. I like this city. Of course, I want to win this tournament, but I’m not looking at the draw that far ahead. I’m just taking it step by step.

“Sometimes you look far in the draw, then you lose the first match because you’re already thinking about your semifinal match or whatever. I’m just trying to take it step by step. Each opponent is really tough. I think tennis has improved a lot, if you see No.1 playing against No.30, it doesn’t say anything. Anyone can beat anyone, so I’m just taking it step by step.”

One of the players standing in Sabalenka’s path, albeit on the opposing side of the draw, is France’s World No.5 Caroline Garcia – the tournament’s fourth seed.

“I’m happy to be back in Dubai. It’s a very nice tournament. It’s a big one, big draw, tough matches. I’m really excited to start a WTA 1000 event,” said the 29-year-old, who reached her maiden Grand Slam semifinal at last year’s US Open.

A beaten finalist at the WTA Lyon Open a fortnight ago, her home tournament, Garcia believes she is starting to find some form in the early stages of the 2023 season after defeating Sabalenka to capture the ATP Finals Fort Worth title last fall.

“Playing someone who is top five in the world, you don’t prepare or play the same as when you’re playing another girl in the top 50,” Garcia said. “When you are top 70 or top 50 and you play against someone top 10, you have nothing to lose.

“Now it’s a little bit the other way around. I was feeling lighter last year, so it’s definitely something we were working on.”

Tickets for the 31st edition of the Championships are on sale now at dubaidutyfreetennischampionships.com, starting from Dh55. Tickets are also available at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium Box Office between 9am and 9pm daily. Tournament organisers have urged fans to secure their seats through the official platform.

Photo credit: Getty