BMW Malaysian Open top seed Agnieszka Radwanska will be hoping to win back-to-back WTA titles at the Bukit Kiara Equestrian and Country Club.
Radwanska won the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship yesterday after defeating Julia Goerges of Germany 7-5, 6-4 to claim her eight WTA title.
The 22-year-old Pole did not have much time to celebrate as she had to catch the next flight out to Kuala Lumpur.
"I don't have much time now. In three or four hours I have a flight to Kuala Lumpur," she said after her triumph in Dubai and an obvious reference to the BMW Malaysian Open. "Everything is pretty last minute. But I think it's a good problem!”
As a result of her win in Dubai, Radwanska will move up a rank into World No.5 when the new standings are released tomorrow (Monday).
"It's great, but it's still far from being No. 1. It looks pretty close, but it's still far. But I'm not really going to think about it too much. I'm going to keep playing my game and try to keep up my good tennis, especially in big events like this. I just want to enjoy my tennis and try win matches."
And come March 4, Radwańska will be looking for an early birthday present ( she turns 23 on March 6) as she aims to add the BMW Malaysian Open to her win in Dubai.
She has reached five Grand Slam quarterfinals, becoming the first Polish woman in the WTA to do so. But it is winning a Grand Slam that she aspires the most.
Radwanska who aspires to win a Grand Slam title and lists Pete Sampras as her all time favourite tennis player because he has won everything there is to win in tennis.
“My goal in life is to win a Grand Slam title and in order to do that I need to be playing consistently well in a tournament,” said Radwanska.
“That is why I admire Sampras for he has won everything there is to win in tennis and I really respect that feat he has achieved.”
In 2008, she became the first Polish female tennis player to surpass US$1 million in career prize money.
She started playing tennis at the tender age of 4, introduced to the sport by her father Robert who still has a hand in coaching her till today.
A baseliner that favours playing on grass, Radwanska is pursuing studies in Tourism at the Polish Sports University in Krakov.
Radwanska hits consistently on both the forehand and the backhand sides. Her favorite shot is her forehand, particularly the inside-out forehand.
She is also very accurate with the drop shot and lob, and relies on tactical accuracy and patience in constructing the point before hitting a winner.
Radwanska opens her BMW Malaysian Open campaign against Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan.The Pole is in the same half as defending champion Jelena Dokic and tournament fourth seed Jarmila Gajdosova, both from Australia.
Entrance to the BMW Malaysian Open is free until Wednesday. For more information on the tournament, visit www.bmwmalaysianopen.com
