A sunny day at the beach
Wozi, Azarenka, Isner and McIlroy enjoy moments
World No 1 Caroline Wozniacki, No 3 Victoria Azarenka and American beanpole John Isner, yesterday, basked in the welcoming ambience of beach city on the eve of the charity tennis event at the Centennial Park Intercontinental Hua Hin.
Wozniack, who is accompanied by her golfer boyfriend Rory McIlroy, has been to the Kingdom so many times she calls herself a “half-Thai”. The couple enjoyed horse riding along the beach yesterday afternoon.
“I’ve been here six or seven times. So I’m half-Thai. I learned how to cook Thai food, went to see the Big Buddha at a famous temple here. [And] I had a session at the spa which was unbelievable,” said Woznacki, who hopes to make a Grand Slam breakthrough this year.
“I have had two fantastic years, finishing No 1 twice in a row. It is something unbelievable for me.
“Of course, I would love to win a Grand Slam, that would probably be the next goal.
“I will try to enjoy and stay healthy, that is the most important thing. And it’s great to able to travel the world, to be at nice places and see nice people,” said the Dane, who had been training in Monaco and Dubai and ran into Belarussian Azarenka.
Azarenka, who is on her first trip to the Kingdom, said: “During the off-season, I took a few weeks off to enjoy my time with family and friends and then started hitting in Monaco where I was in the building across from Caroline’s. It was like stalking because then in Dubai we were at the same beach.”
Azarenka is the world No 3 and has picked the London Olympics as one of her main events for 2012.
“Next year will be a great challenge for all of us. I like to compete. Next year will be more exciting, with the Olympics coming up. It’s one of the main goals for everybody. I’m sure it’s going to be fun.
“It is my first time here, so I’m not a half-Thai yet – it’s a new culture. We [Caroline and I] have played each other so many times, so it is normal. I will go to Sydney after the match. I hope to see a bit more of Thailand [later].”
Among the tennis trio, the 2.06-metre-tall Isner appeared to have the most fun with new friends in Thailand – monkeys at Khao Takieb – where he stopped by on Friday with his girlfriend Madison McKinley.
“I went to the Buddha on top, climbed the steps all the way up. It was absolutely a blast. I had some good pictures on my phone. They must have thought I was a tree or something. They tried to climb up on me. That was quite a good experience,” said Isner, who will play former Thai No 1 Paradorn Srichaphan right after the women’s singles match which will be shown live on Channel 3 at 5pm.
“I’m excited, I have never played him before. There were times when we were playing on the tour but we never got to play each other on the tour. It will be a fun experience and I hope I have some of the crowd on my side,” the American big server said.
Earlier in the morning, Wozniacki, McIlroy, Azarenka and Isner took part in an alms-giving ceremony on the beach and listened to sermons from monks.
France too good for China
Chinese star Li Na asserted she is back in form after beating world No 9 Marion Bartoli in three sets in the opening singles match at the Hopman Cup mixed teams’ tournament in Perth.
This year’s French Open champion put a poor finish in her 2011 campaign behind her to beat Bartoli 2-6 6-2 6-4 on New Year’s Eve.
But the French fought back to level the tie when world No 19 Richard Gasquet cruised past Chinese youngster Wu Di in straight sets, 6-1 6-3.
The second-seeded French pair won the tie by easily claiming the deciding mixed doubles match with a 6-1 6-1 win.
The fifth-ranked Li recovered from a service break down in the deciding set against Bartoli to win four successive games and beat the feisty Frenchwoman.
It was a fantastic fillip heading into 2012 for Li, who struggled after her breakthrough Grand Slam title in Paris in June.
A beaten finalist at the Australian Open in January, she won just seven of 16 matches for the rest of the season after the French Open, bowing out in the second round at Wimbledon and in the first round at the US Open.
Li admitted she struggled to cope with the extra attention and demands of being her country’s first Grand Slam winner, but said she had benefited from off-season training in Europe and was ready to reproduce her best form.
“Life has changed. I lose concentration on the court. It is tough after you win a big title,” she said after her win. “[But] I think I am back.”
It took Li almost two hours to dispose of Bartoli.
