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Dubai: Slovenia's Katarina Srebotnik is cherishing the thought of many more fruitful UAE summers in the near future.
The qualifier, who nearly staged an early tournament upset at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships before going down in three sets to top seed Justine Henin late on Wednesday, admitted that her stint here has helped her game immensely.
"It's summer all through the year in Dubai and it is so good for my tennis that I can go out any time and pratice," the 26-year-old told Gulf News.
Facing the world's best player late on Wednesday, the Slovenian was not overawed at all as she stretched Henin to the limit before surrendering the match to her more seasoned opponent 7-5, 6-7 (6), 6-3.
"It felt good playing on my home court, I was so comfortable out there," gushed Srebotnik.
"It has been a long time since we played each other," she said about her match against Henin.
"My game has changed since then and so has she improved. But I am happy with the way I performed. It would have been a huge upset, had I beaten her. But it's always a good feeling to come so close to a top player like Justine. I definitely have a lot of positives to take out of this match."
The Slovenian juggles her time between playing and training and manages to spend at least a month in Dubai each year.
"My coach [former Serbian Fed Cup coach Biljana Veselinovic] lives in Serbia as she has two children. So somehow we have come to a compromise wherein we try and divide the training between Dubai and Europe," Srebotnik said.
"I love this place. Unfortunately, I have to do a lot of travelling during tournaments, but I come here as often as I can."
Currently ranked 28th on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, Srebotnik's junior highlights include the Wimbledon singles' title and a runner-up finish at the US Open in 1998.
Every opportunity
It was primarily Dubai's fair weather that prompted Srebotnik to move residence here from December 2005.
And any time she is down, she is seen training either at the Dubai Tennis Stadium or along with friends at one of the many private clubs.
"I enjoy being here and that is why I take every opportunity to be here, whenever I can get the time," she said.
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