Kerber aims for Doha bounce

A star-studded field is in attendance at the Qatar Total Open which begins today at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha.The line-up boasts five of the top-seven players, and each one of them will be eager to bounce back from the agony of their failure at the Australian Open. It was a disappointing start to the year for the likes of Angelique Kerber, Karolina Pliskova, Dominika Cibulkova, Agnieszka Radwanska and Garbine Muguruza – as Serena Williams swept to her 23rd Grand Slam title in Melbourne.At 35, Serena showed how it’s done as she marched on to the history books as her title challengers fell by the wayside, failing to even make it to the semi-finals.Now after a well-earned break, the stars of the Doha field will be hoping to recapture their form in the Middle East swing. No one more than Kerber will be keen to reassert herself as the one to beat. The German, top seed in Doha, endured a double disappointment last month. The 29-year-old was knocked out in the fourth round at the Australian Open by American Coco Vandeweghe and then saw Serena dethrone her from the World No.1 ranking. Kerber will get back to top spot if she reaches the final in Doha and Dubai in the next two weeks, or if she wins in Dubai. But the German is eager to get back to winning ways, than worry about the number one ranking. “For me it’s really important to play good tennis, to try to improving my tennis. This is actually my goal always,” Kerber said yesterday.“I will do my best in the next few weeks, few months. If you play good tennis, then you have results. This is actually for me the most important thing, to win matches again, getting the confidence back, and then we will see what’s happen in the next few months,” she added.Kerber, who arrived in Qatar last week to acclimatise to the conditions here, has been given a first round bye. The top seed awaits the winner of the match between Russian teen Daria Kasatkina and Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania’s.If Kasatkina does prevail through, it will set up an interesting duel with Kerber. The talented Kasatkina, ranked 28th, shocked Kerber in Sydney last month and could be a major threat again.Last year Kerber lost in the second round in Doha in straight sets to China’s Zheng Saisai. And also playing this week in Doha are the world numbers three, five, six and seven – Pliskova, Cibulkova, Radwanska and Muguruza. Out of the four, Radwanska is handed a tough draw. The Polish No. 6 will be playing her first match since her shock Australian Open second round exit and the road to the final will not be easy for her.Radwanska will either face former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki or Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens in the second round. “Of course, is not easy draw. We’ll see after that match who’s going to win. Caroline is playing good tennis at the moment. She’s definitely starting to be more confident. Playing really better than before. I guess it’s going to be her. Yes, we played couple times the end of the last year. That was really three good, long matches. So we’ll see,” said Radwanska. One player to watch out is Elena Vesnina. The Russian was ranked outside the top 100 just over a year ago, but is currently career-high 15. The 30-year-old will play a qualifier today and could possibly face Radwanska in the quarters.