World No.13 Shahar Peer today arrived at the Brisbane International Tournament in preparation for her first match. Peer will challenge Australian wildcard Sophie Ferguson in the second seed’s first-round match.
In preparation for 2011’s events, Peer has spent her off season training in Miami and feels like she is going to begin the new year as a stronger player.
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“I was in Miami practising and it was good, it was good weather and I was hitting with good partners and I think I got a bit stronger. And you know, you try to improve some things, but you cannot improve everything; you try to put it all in order, otherwise you get lost.
“So I think we worked on being aggressive a little bit more and knowing where to stand on the court; using my serve better, and I think I am pretty strong for the beginning of the year,” said Peer in a media conference this afternoon.
After improving her ranking from 31 to 13 in the past 12 months, Peers’ goals are set high. When asked about how she intends to move herself into the top 10, like Aussie favourite Samantha Stosur, she said, “I had good year in 2010, it started in 2009 actually and I think just to keep going, to improve all the time and give it my best.
Photos: latest photos from the Brisbane International
“The main things are to do well in Grand Slams and big tournaments, and that’s how you improve. So, it’s just the beginning of the year and you’re still not sure about all the things you’ve been working on are coming together, tennis season is a very long season so the main thing is to be very stable and try and do well for most of the year.”
If she makes it to the final, Peer may well find herself up against the number one seed. Stosur, who is ranked no.6 in the world and the top contender in the tournament, will be Peers’ biggest threat.
“She’s a good player and we both know she has a big serve, so she’s very dangerous. You need to be very focused the whole match, she’s not going to give you the points obviously, so you need to focus on your own service game also,” said Peer.
Before making her way to the Australian Open, Peer said she is happy to be finetuning her game in Brisbane and Sydney, where she intends to prepare herself mentally and physically for the Melbourne major.
“I like playing in Australia. In Melbourne I played the quarterfinal there one year, I played really well. So, I hope to have a good run this year because you always want to do good in Grand Slams, especially when it is in the beginning of the year, it gives you a lot of energy,” said Peer.
Peer made it to the quarterfinals in both The Australian Open and The US Open in 2007 and lucked out in the semifinals in Auckland last year.
Proving she has what it takes to make it, Peer is one player to keep an eye on throughout Brisbane International 2011.
“I am one of those people, whenever it gets tough, I play even better.”
Tickets are still available for Brisbane International 2011 from Ticketek.
World No.13 Shahar Peer today arrived at the Brisbane International Tournament in preparation for her first match. Peer will challenge Australian wildcard Sophie Ferguson in the second seed’s first-round match.
In preparation for 2011’s events, Peer has spent her off season training in Miami and feels like she is going to begin the new year as a stronger player.
Video: watch Brisbane International videos
http://www.youtube.com/brisbanetennis
“I was in Miami practising and it was good, it was good weather and I was hitting with good partners and I think I got a bit stronger. And you know, you try to improve some things, but you cannot improve everything; you try to put it all in order, otherwise you get lost.
“So I think we worked on being aggressive a little bit more and knowing where to stand on the court; using my serve better, and I think I am pretty strong for the beginning of the year,” said Peer in a media conference this afternoon.
After improving her ranking from 31 to 13 in the past 12 months, Peers’ goals are set high. When asked about how she intends to move herself into the top 10, like Aussie favourite Samantha Stosur, she said, “I had good year in 2010, it started in 2009 actually and I think just to keep going, to improve all the time and give it my best.
Photos: latest photos from the Brisbane International
http://www.brisbaneinternational.com.au/photos
“The main things are to do well in Grand Slams and big tournaments, and that’s how you improve. So, it’s just the beginning of the year and you’re still not sure about all the things you’ve been working on are coming together, tennis season is a very long season so the main thing is to be very stable and try and do well for most of the year.”
If she makes it to the final, Peer may well find herself up against the number one seed. Stosur, who is ranked no.6 in the world and the top contender in the tournament, will be Peers’ biggest threat.
“She’s a good player and we both know she has a big serve, so she’s very dangerous. You need to be very focused the whole match, she’s not going to give you the points obviously, so you need to focus on your own service game also,” said Peer.
Before making her way to the Australian Open, Peer said she is happy to be finetuning her game in Brisbane and Sydney, where she intends to prepare herself mentally and physically for the Melbourne major.
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“I like playing in Australia. In Melbourne I played the quarterfinal there one year, I played really well. So, I hope to have a good run this year because you always want to do good in Grand Slams, especially when it is in the beginning of the year, it gives you a lot of energy,” said Peer.
Peer made it to the quarterfinals in both The Australian Open and The US Open in 2007 and lucked out in the semifinals in Auckland last year.
Proving she has what it takes to make it, Peer is one player to keep an eye on throughout Brisbane International 2011.
“I am one of those people, whenever it gets tough, I play even better.”
Tickets are still available for Brisbane International 2011 from Ticketek.
http://premier.ticketek.com.au/shows/show.aspx?sh=BRISO2011&view=ao