Second seeded Agnieszka Radwanska sees herself close to achieving her lifelong dream of winning a Grand Slam.
The Polish world No3 finished runner-up at Wimbledon in 2012 but has not reached a Grand Slam final since. However, she has made an impressive start to 2014, securing a 10-3 record after reaching the Australian Open semi-finals and the semis in Doha last week.
Radwanska has won 13 titles in her career, including Dubai two years ago, and she says picking up big titles has prepared her for winning her first major.
She said: “I’m trying to work on everything to make a step forward and win a Grand Slam. I won WTA events, even the big ones like Beijing, Miami, Dubai… but never Grand Slams so of course I’m working on it and hopefully I’ll do it one day.
“I think I’m not far away,” Radwanska said of her Grand Slam-winning chances. “I think everyone in the top-10 is not far. If you win a tournament like Miami, you can win a Grand Slam as well. It’s just women’s tennis, everything can change, you really have to prepare for every match a bit differently.
“Even when you play someone twice in two weeks, they’re still completely different matches.”
The 24-year-old is also hoping she can reach the top of the rankings, with the No2 spot being her highest ranking so far in her career.
“I guess Serena has too many (points) at the moment so it’s going to be tough to reach her,” Radwanska said of the world No1.
“But of course everything can happen and if I play the same level I’ve been playing this year. I was really close to No1 once before in 2012 when I made the Wimbledon final so I think if I was very close then I can still do it.
"Being No1 is very important for everyone, even for just a week so of course I’ll do everything in my power to be there.”
On her Dubai chances, she added: “It’s always great to come back to the place that you won a tournament before but as you can see the tournament is so strong. You can play a top-20 player in the first round so it’s really tough from the beginning. So of course I’m confident but it’s still tough.”
Radwanska awaits the winner from Tuesday’s first round match between Italian qualifier Flavia Pennetta and Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi.
