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Radwanska plays on to make it to Singapore

SINGAPORE — Agnieszka Radwanska may have recently called for the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) season to be shortened to nine months after seeing tired and injured players dropping out of the tour, but she has no plans to give up the rest of her own season.

Radwanska of Poland, the world’s No 6, feels she is playing much better tennis now than at the beginning of the year. Photo: Reuters

Radwanska of Poland, the world’s No 6, feels she is playing much better tennis now than at the beginning of the year. Photo: Reuters

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SINGAPORE — Agnieszka Radwanska may have recently called for the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) season to be shortened to nine months after seeing tired and injured players dropping out of the tour, but she has no plans to give up the rest of her own season.

The 26-year-old, who has played 22 tournaments this year, is competing in this week’s Tianjin Open before jetting off to Moscow for the Kremlin Cup (Oct 19-25) — all in a bid to boost her chances of qualifying for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals in Singapore (Oct 25-Nov 1).

Radwanska, who is currently sixth in the WTA Finals leaderboard, would have played six tournaments in six weeks if she does manage to qualify for the prestigious tournament for the fifth consecutive year.

But even if the steely-faced Polish player is feeling tired, she is not showing it, as she has her eyes firmly set on one of the eight coveted spots in Singapore.

And while players such as world No 1 Serena Williams are skipping the end of the season to rest and ­recover — and others such as a teary-eyed Eugenie Bouchard ­retired from the China Open after still feeling the effects of a concussion she suffered last month — Radwanska said that she is playing some of her best tennis all season.

“So Serena (Williams) is not playing (the WTA Finals), and there is still one more spot,” the world No 6, who made the semi-finals in Singapore last year, told TODAY in a ­recent phone interview.

“But it (qualification) is still very tight, and every round matters. The rankings are changing every week, because the girls are playing good tennis, and there are a lot of young upcoming players. Now, there are so many players who can be in the top 10. That’s why I’m really trying and playing a couple more tournaments in a row. I am going to fight until the end. I am a fighter.”

The resurgent Radwanska is keen to put behind her a run of inconsistent results, as well as the parting of ways with 18-time Grand Slam champion Martina Navratilova, whom she hired as her coach last December before subsequently ending the partnership in April.

“It has definitely been a year of ups and downs. At the beginning of the season, it was tough,” she said.

“I am definitely playing much better tennis than I was at the beginning of the year.”

In the first half of the year, the furthest Radwanska had progressed was at home in Katowice in April, where she lost in the semi-finals.

But a return home for a short break seemed to work for her, as she then made the semis of Nottingham, the final of Eastbourne, and also the semis of the All-England Lawn Tennis Club.

Radwanska finally grabbed her first tournament victory this year — and her 15th career tennis title — when she defeated Swiss player Belinda Bencic at the WTA Pan Pacific Open final last month.

On her coaching situation, Radwanska said she is in a good place with the people who are only going to propel her to greater heights.

She said so despite her father, Robert, openly criticising her coach, Tomasz Wiktorowski, earlier in April and calling for his resignation.

“Martina (Navratilova) and I had some good moments together at the beginning of the year,” she said.

“Unfortunately, it was bad timing for both of us. But I didn’t really stop with my coach (Wiktorowski), just (that) Martina was another person on my team.

“I’ve been working with my coach for four years now, and it has been really good.

“The core of my team is pretty much the same. I am very happy with my team, and they are doing a good job.

“I just hope I can still keep going and also finish this year as one of the best players.”

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