Tennis: Dubai-bound Kerber looking to regain number one ranking

Dubai - The 29 year old German will face one of the strongest fields ever when she bids to add the Dubai crown to her two Grand Slam trophies

Current world number two Angelique Kerber will line up for the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships next week knowing that taking the title will see her regain her world number one ranking.
The 29 year old German dethroned the seemingly invincible Serena Williams on 12 September 2016 to become the oldest woman and the first German since Steffi Graf to take the number one spot, but her loss in round 4 at the Australian Open and Williams' victory there saw her surrender the ranking after twenty weeks.
Kerber currently trails Williams by 665 points and with Dubai being a Premier 5 event this year there are 900 ranking points on the line. Kerber is scheduled to also compete in the Qatar Open this week and can return to number one if she makes the finals of both Doha and Dubai, or if she wins in Dubai.
Bur she will face one of the strongest fields ever when she bids to add the Dubai crown to her two Grand Slam trophies when play commences on Feb 19. With a field featuring seven of the top ten players in the world, Kerber's run to the title will by no means be an easy one, and she will be under more pressure than most.
After ending Serena's record-tying run (with Steffi Graf) of 186 weeks at the top of the rankings, Kerber knows that she is in everyone's sights and after a somewhat lackluster start to the season, losing in the quarter finals in Brisbane, and the first round in Sydney before falling to CoCo Vandeweghe in Melbourne, she will need to regain the fantastic form of 2016 which saw her win the Australian and US Opens and a silver medal at the Rio Olympics if she is to lift the prestigious Dubai crown.
Even her opponents were full of praise when she claimed the top ranking, including arch-rival Agnieszka Radwanska.
"Angelique is definitely playing unbelievable tennis," said the Polish top-tenner. "She really showed that she can play great tennis on every surface. Very solid tennis. She definitely deserves to be number one."
But rather than fearing what lies ahead, Kerber is relishing the challenge, saying before the Australian Open, "I'm actually more excited. I know that I have the pressure on my shoulders but I am really looking forward to take this challenge. It's a new situation for me. Every player would like to beat me now. So I will just try to go out and not think about this."
She certainly has something to prove to her many fans in Dubai. Success has eluded her during her previous five Dubai appearances, with just one win that came ove.
Kuznetsova and 2012 Dubai champion Radwanska will be just two of the opponents that will be bidding for one of the most coveted trophies on the WTA Tour.