Dushevina looks to make world's top 20 next year

Musthofid ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Nusa Dua, Bali   |  Fri, 11/06/2009 2:45 PM  |  Sports

While the other players at the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions are battling for the winner's check of US$200,000, alternate Vera Dushevina is making the most of her down time.

But her mind is already focused on her next goal of reaching the world top 20 in 2010.

By winning the Istanbul Cup in July, as well as finishing runner-up in Strasbourg, the Russian was in contention for one of the 10 direct entry spots at the round robin event - determined among the highest ranked players who had won one of the designated tournaments during the calendar year. Her ranking of 48 just missed the cut as Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia, ranked 46th, took the final spot.

She still got to come to Bali just in case one of the 10 players and two wildcards withdrew, but her alternate status means she has not had to deal with the pressure of playing.

Dushevina, 23, has been able to relax.

"I know everybody's coming to play in the tournament, but I'm OK. I'm relaxed.practicing. I'm having a good vacation. If I got to play the event tomorrow, I would. If I don't play, it's OK. I like everything they are doing here," she said during a cooking class on Thursday.

She could have done some damage in the round-robin tournament.

Against top seed Marion Bartoli, she leads 7-2 in head-to-head meetings, including back-to-back victories in Miami and Moscow in 2007. She also leads Anabel Medina Garrigues, Melinda Czink and Agnes Szavay.

Dushevina turned pro in 2003, the year she wound up her junior career on a high note by reaching the junior girls final at the French Open.

She also was on the winning Russian Fed Cup in 2005, although once again she was an alternate.

Although she likes other sports such as soccer and basketball, tennis, she declares, is her life.

"Tennis takes so much time from me. It's my job and my life."

She also has proved she is a fighter. She pushed Venus Williams to three sets at this year's US Open and, in a remarkable turnaround, came back from two match points down at 1-6, 1-5 to defeat American Jill Craybas at the 2005 Australian Open.

Up next, after returning home to Moscow for some more rest time, will be 2010 and her plans to climb further up the rankings. She begins her season in the Sydney tournament in January.

"I'm happy that I have played better tennis than last year. Last year I was still outside the top 100. Hopefully, I can go to top 20."

For now, she is just enjoying herself with the off-court events in Bali. She can enjoy them even if the other players cannot.

"You know, I'm not playing here, that's why I can take part in those activities. If they can't, I understand, because they have to prepare for their matches."

Next year, perhaps, it will be a different story.

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