Ahead of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, starting February 19, Ahmed Rizvi looks at five contenders in the WTA event.
1. Angelique Kerber
Best Dubai result: Round 16 (2015)
Arriving in Dubai last year as the Australian Open champion, Kerber disappointed her fans here by pulling out just before the start of the tournament, along with Serena Williams, citing a right upper thigh injury. The German should be looking to make amends – not just for 2016, but a string of first-round defeats. Kerber has won only one of her six matches in Dubai, including the 2008 qualifying, and she will look to improve on those numbers. Deposed following her short tenure as No 1, Kerber should now be able to play with the freedom she exhibited in 2016, and that could be good news for her fans here.
2. Karolina Pliskova
Best Dubai result: Final (2015)
A finalist at the US Open last year, Pliskova had first served notice of her potential here in Dubai two years ago, on the way to her first WTA Premier Mandatory/Premier 5 final. That week, Pliskova accounted for Ana Ivanovic, the world No 6 at the time, Lucie Safarova and Garbine Muguruza. The Czech, one of the biggest servers in the women’s game, lost in the final against Simona Halep, but the media was already talking about a future grand slam champion. Pliskova has not won a major trophy as yet, but returns to Dubai as one of the brightest stars in the game and, given the fast courts here, as one of the hot favourites.
3. Johanna Konta
Making her debut in Dubai this year, Konta has made a sensational climb up the rankings over the past two years after starting 2015 as No 146 in the world. The first Brit to break into the top 10 since Jo Durie in 1984, she will arrive here as one of the favourites following an impressive start to the season, which has seen her reach the semis in Shenzen before winning the Sydney title without dropping a set. She looked in great form at the Australian Open as well, winning her first four matches in straight sets, including the third-round clash against former world No 1 Caroline Wozniacki, before losing to eventual champion Serena Williams. Konta will be keen to keep that momentum going and her British fans here will be cheering her all the way.
4. Garbine Muguruza
Best Dubai result: Semi-final (2015)
A semi-finalist on her Dubai debut two years ago, Muguruza was knocked out by Elina Svitolina last year after getting a first-round bye. Returning as a grand slam champion now, having blown Serena Williams away in the Roland Garros final last summer, the Spaniard will be looking to go the distance here after coming up short in her first two events of the year, retiring from her Brisbane semi-final against Alize Cornet and losing to Coco Vandeweghe in the quarter-final of the Australian Open.
5. Coco Vandeweghe
Best Dubai result: Quarter-final (2016)
Last year, when Vandeweghe knocked out Karolina Pliskova in the opening round, she barely attracted any attention. But now it will be different. A late bloomer, the 25-year-old American is suddenly the talk of the tennis world following her stunning run to the semi-finals of the Australian Open, where she defeated Eugenie Bouchard, Angelique Kerber and Garbine Muguruza along the way, before losing to Venus Williams. Making her third appearance in Dubai, Vandeweghe should definitely have the fans on her side, for she is a great entertainer and one of the real characters on the women’s tour.
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