Lucie Safarova has landed in Doha to prep there to see if she is ready to defend her title. After missing out on the Fed Cup Final and the beginning of this season with a bacterial infection, the Czech number two looks set to make her return to tennis. She was originally set to play at the Hopman Cup with Jiri Vesely before ultimately being replaced by Karolina Pliskova. She also missed out on the Australian Open.
Safarova’s Bacterial Battle
The bacterial infection has been an ongoing battle for the French Open finalist. She first experienced this bacterial infection back in the fall when she had to withdraw from the Toray Pan Pacific Open. She then had to withdraw from the tournament in Wuhan as she had not fully recovered from the illness just yet. She did get to participate in the WTA Finals but was eliminated in the round-robin portion. However, a victory in her last round-robin match helped her see her countrywoman and good friend, Petra Kvitova, through to the semifinals and was an eventual finalist.
The 29-year-old was named to the Czech Republic squad in the Fed Cup Final against Russia but did not play due to an injury. Despite not being able to play, she witnessed her country successfully defend its Fed Cup title and made it four victories in five years.
Hopman Cup was the supposed next destination for the world number ten, but plans were hampered with the bacterial infection still affecting her. She eventually had to withdraw from the Australian Open as well, which didn’t affect her to much since she lost in the first round to Yaroslava Shvedova back in 2014.
Defending Doha?
The Czech has withdrawn from next week’s tournament in Dubai and has her eyes set on defending her title in Doha. Doha is one of the WTA’s Premier 5 tournaments, where the winner of the tournament gets 900 points. Last year, she defeated Victoria Azarenka in straight sets to take home the title.
