Jelena Jankovic honours draw ceremony at the Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge – Tennis News
Former world number one, Jelena Jankovic from Serbia, honoured the draw ceremony at the Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge 2012, an ITF (International Tennis Federation) Women’s Circuit event taking place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The Serbian star, Jankovic stole the limelight in the 15th Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge as the guest of honour. She gave prizes of Miss Tournament contest to the winners at the Players’ Party and was delighted of returning in this event.
She conquered this tournament nine years ago and was delighted of returning. She was quoted in a press conference:
“It’s an honour for me to be here. I have great memories of winning this tournament. I’m just happy to see everyone here again and I’m looking forward to enjoying some great competition this week. I think we’re going to have some great tennis. One of the tough first round matches to look out for is Anastasija Sevastova against Kimiko Date-Krumm. I invite as many people as possible to come and watch the tennis here all week. It’s a beautiful place, great weather and some great matches. We’re going to have fun.”
The Serbian number two is not the only star attraction at this indoor hard court event. The Swiss icon Martina Hingis, who is five-time Grand Slam Champion, will also be present at this event. She is coaching the Kazakhstani rising star, Yulia Putintseva, there.
The 15th annual Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge kicked off last night at the Habtoor Grand Beach Resort and Spa. Three of the Top 100 players from WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) highlights the tournament including the former world number four, Kimiko Date-Krumm from Japan. The 42-year-old is coming off final showdown at the WTA 125 event in Pune. She then cruised to the title-round at the Dunlop World Challenge in Japan. The Russian veteran Vera Dushevina, who reached her career high at number 40, is also part of the draw.
The Romanian star, Irina-Camelia Begu, is seeded top in this event. She is currently ranked 52nd in the WTA Premier Rankings. Other notable seeds include Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina and Serbia’s Bojana Jovanovski.
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