Czech tennis ace Nicole Vaidisova is looking to turn over a
new leaf in Auckland after "a year of transition" in which
the former top-10's ranking took a dive.
Vaidisova, 19, was today the first of the big names to arrive
for the WTA Tour season-opening ASB Classic, which begins on
Monday.
She will be the $US220,000 ($NZ386,000) tournament's sixth
seed.
The winner of six WTA titles and once the world No 7,
Vaidisova saw her ranking fall over the past year from 12th
to 41st on the back of a nagging wrist injury.
"I took some time off and did a lot of rehab and I feel as
well as I can be," she said.
"I worked hard in the off season, so my goal is just to get
back to where I was at the start of this year."
After making the quarterfinals at Wimbledon for the second
time in July, Vaidisova's results fell away with five
first-round and two second-round exits over the remainder of
2008.
She didn't want to give reasons or make excuses for her poor
run.
"I don't think everybody can play well all the time," he
said.
"It was just a year for me of transition, a lot changes, and
it took a toll. I'm just ready for next year."
Vaidisova is making her first appearance in the Classic and
had "heard it's a fun tournament".
But it was also important to get a good start to the year and
to have a solid build-up to the Australian Open later in the
month.
"It can sow a little doubt in your mind if you don't do as
well."
Vaidisova's arrival was balanced by news that Slovakian
Katarina Srebotnik had pulled out with an ankle injury.
Srebotnik, world-ranked No 20, has played in Auckland in six
of the past nine years and won both the singles and doubles
titles in 2005.
Her withdrawal comes a fortnight after Russian Nadia Petrova,
the world No 11, was ruled out after being hospitalised with
viral meningitis.
The absence of Petrova and Srebotnik, who would have been the
second and the fourth seeds respectively, means the Classic
will have just two top-20 players in Russian Elena Dementieva
(No 4) and Caroline Wozniacki (No 12).
Tournament director Brenda Perry said Srebotnik was upset at
having to pull out.
"She's almost got Kiwi citizenship," Perry said of
Srebotnik's regular visits to New Zealand.
"She's had the best year she's ever had in singles and
doubles and she's really disappointed."
Srebotnik's misfortune means Frenchwoman Aravane Rezai, last
January's runner-up, moves into the main draw.
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