Serena Williams to return from injury at Linz
Serena Williams usually saves her best for the Grand Slams, but she’s got some added incentive to win the title at the Generali Ladies Linz in Austria next week.
Next week, Serena will be officially the former world No. 1, with Caroline Wozniacki securing the top ranking by reaching the quarter-finals at the China Open in Beijing yesterday.
The 20-year-old’s ascent to the No. 1 spot has come largely while Serena has been forced to take the role of distant spectator; the Australian Open and Wimbledon champion hasn’t played a tournament since winning the title at the latter as a result of the foot injury she sustained when she trod on some broken glass in early July.
In the interim, Wozniacki has won four titles – and could have another in Beijing – and assumed the top seeding at the US Open by default due to the absence of the 13-time Grand Slam champion.
Now, though, Serena is back, and in a statement released on the Generali Ladies Linz website has said: "This week I very thankfully received full clearance to play again from my doctor, and I'm excited to announce that I will be playing the Generali Ladies Linz this coming week, and assuming I stay healthy the year-end WTA Championships in Doha. I'm excited to be back and want to thank my fans for their continued support."
If past form is any guide, Serena should be able to hit her stride without too much preparation; and if past comments serve as any indication of Williams’ mindset, she’ll be less than pleased to have lost the top ranking to the sunny Dane.
"We all know who the real No. 1 is," Williams told reporters at the Italian Open in 2009 soon after losing the top ranking to Dinara Safina, a player Serena had trounced in that year’s Australian Open final and one who, like Wozniacki, became world No. 1 without having won a Grand Slam title.
Serena spent six months as world No. 2 last year, but secured the season-ending world No. 1 ranking ahead of the Russian.
No doubt she’ll be looking to ensure Wozniacki’s stint at the top is even briefer, and winning the title in Linz would be a positive first step towards ensuring that is indeed the case.
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