Flavia Pennetta eyeing Top-20 spot by end of 2012 – Tennis News
Italian tennis icon, Flavia Pennetta, is pumped up to make a return to the Top-20 players of the World by the end of this year. She is turning 30-years-old this year but her hopes are still sky-rocketing. She is currently ranked at the 28th spot
in the latest Women Tennis Associations (WTA) rankings.
The Italian was the first women of her country to make it to the Top-10 players of the World in August 2009. She is also a doubles specialist and is ranked 12th in doubles category at the moment. She has won nine WTA titles in her professional
career and is looking to bag a few more before saying goodbye to the most beloved part of her life.
A stunning memory of her career was way back in 2005 when she was in devastating form; winning successive titles in Bogota and Acapulco. It was her dream run but she could never introduce the guile in her playing style that could have further enhanced her
ranking. However, she had the flare of becoming World Number one in the doubles category in 2011.
Talking about her aims of 2012, she said, “I would like to come back in the top 20 and improve my ranking a lot. And to finish the year in that position, say 15 or 13 or something like that, will be perfect for me.” She was talking to the media representatives
after her opening set triumph over the Spanish tennis ace, Anabel Medina Garrigues. She ousted her in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 and confirmed a date with the former World Number one, Jelena Jankovic.
She further added, “I don't like to put big goals before myself as sometimes, when you put it too high and you don't get to it, you get frustrated. So I prefer to go one step at a time by just playing every match with maximum concentration.”
Pennetta was close on winning her 10th title in the season-opener at Auckland but her luck was out. She had to retire due to a back problem in the third set. Pennetta was scheduled to play in Sydney as well but could not recover from back injury
and was miserably undone by the Russian qualifier Nina Bratchikova, in the opening round of the Australian Open. She was ousted in the second round of the Qatar Total Open as well. It seems like she is on a career low but a single title to her name can boost
her morale and help her achieve her goals. It will be interesting to see how Pennetta recovers from this lack of performance and builds up confidence to start winning again.
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