Kenin hopes to partner Bethanie at Olympics

Dubai - Kenin is also concentrating on the doubles as much as she does on the singles and is aiming for gold at the showpiece this July-August.

Her singles campaign in the DDF Tennis Championships may be over even before it got started but it still is a long road ahead for freshly-minted Australian champion Sofia Kenin.
The 21-year-old American, who defeated Spaniard Garbine Muguruza to etch her name as a Grand Slam winner, has a busy season on the horizon which may also include having a crack at the Olympics in Tokyo.
Kenin is also concentrating on the doubles as much as she does on the singles and is aiming for gold at the showpiece this July-August.
Kenin hopes to continue her partnership with nine-time Grand Slam doubles champion Bethanie Mattek-Sands in Tokyo. The pair are currently in the round of 16 in the doubles in Dubai and take on sixth seeds Czech Republic's Kveta Peschke and Demi Schuurs of the Netherlands, for a berth in the last eight.
"There's a lot more tournaments coming up, obviously more important ones and bigger ones. Hopefully I can play better there," said Kenin.
"Obviously there is where it matters and where it counts. Hopefully I can bring my game up there," she added.
Kenin, who is ranked seventh in the world in singles, felt that being still young meant she could show equal focus in singles and doubles.
"I've never had a problem balancing out. I have done singles and doubles. It's no problem for me. I'm young. I can manage it for now," she said.
Kenin and Mattek-Sands had a sensational start to their partnership, after the wildcards defeated Jelena Ostapenko and Dayana Yastremska to claim the China Open in Beijing last October.
The duo also reached the third round of the Australian Open in January. Kenin hopes that they can give it a go at the Olympics. "Hopefully, yeah," Kenin said, when asked whether they would be playing at the Olympics.
"I would like to play maybe with Bethanie if possible. We haven't really talked about it, playing. We're playing a lot, so hopefully we can make it," she said. And as a prelude to that, the pair will be playing the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells from March 11 to 22 and the Miami Open from March 24 to April 4.
Kenin believes that her body can cope with the gruelling schedule.
"I'm fine. Body-wise everything is fine. I'm not injured or anything. I'm just a little bit tired obviously. Other than that, I feel fine. I'm ready to go," said Kenin, who had also partnered Mattek-Sands in the Fed Cup against Latvia earlier this month.
james@khaleejtimes.com