Dubai: Former champion Kimiko Date-Krumm hopes her body can hold up to the rigours of the Tour as the 17th Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge starts at the Habtoor Beach Resort and Spa this week. Date-Krumm is looking to become the first player to win the singles title at the event twice.
Date-Krumm, now 44, was crowned champion in this annual tournament in 2012 with a three-set victory over teenager Yulia Putintseva. Since then the Japanese has gone on to consolidate her position as one of the greats of the game.
Earlier this season, she teamed up with Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova and reached the doubles semi-finals at the US Open. After that, Date-Krumm could not keep up with the physical demands and retired in Hong Kong while losing to Francesca Schiavone, followed by a second loss in three sets against Victoria Azarenka in Tokyo.
The former world number four took a one-month break before returning to action last week in Chinese Taipei where she lost in the qualifiers.
“I am no longer young. I have had a great career before and now it is time for me to enjoy each and every moment I am on the court,” Date-Krumm told media as the 17th Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge was announced on Saturday.
“I didn’t come here last year as I did not want to play too much. It is not easy to keep physical form especially at the end of a season. It is tough for my age, but I have good memories here as I went on to win a few more tournaments on the WTA Tour. Every year it’s not easy to keep going, but luckily I still have the passion for my sport,” she added.
“I did not play at all last one month. I did not even stand on a court. I took a complete break to recover. Last week was my first competition and hopefully I can make a winning start here.”
The Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge is a $75,000 (Dh275,000) tournament on the ITF Women’s Circuit. Jana Cepelova won the singles title last year and this year the 21-year-old from Slovakia is the top seed here. Belgium’s Alison Van Uytvanck is seeded second, Anna-Lena Friedsam of Germany is the third seed and Tereza Smitkova is seeded fourth.
Till date, no player has successfully defended her title or won the Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge twice. Kyra Nagy, now the tournament director, won the inaugural event in 1998 when the competition was a $25,000 event on the ITF Womens Circuit.
In 1999, the tournament increased its prize money to $75,000 and since then an array of stars have won the singles titles, including Slovenia’s Katarina Srebotnik (1999), Serbian Jelena Jankovic (2003), Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli (2005), Maria Kirilenko of Russia (2007), India’s doubles specialist Sania Mirza (2010), Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm (2012) and defending champion Cepelova.
