Australian Jarmilla Gajdosova
will surely stop many in their tracks at the BMW Malaysian Open in Bukit Kiara
Equestrian and Country Club.
The 24-year-old is making her
second appearance in Kuala Lumpur, citing the warmness – in both weather and
the people - being the main reason for her return after reaching the semifinals
last year.
She isn't playing with much consistency
this season, and will be hoping that a lengthy run at the BMW Malaysian Open
will help to get her season back on track. The Australian has struggled in
recent weeks, and she enters this tournament off of the back of a first round
exit in Doha.
And she struggled to win her opening match against Kathrin Woerle of Germany, coming from a set down to eventually prevail 1-6, 7-6 (2), 7-5.
“It was really easy making a
decision to come back to the BMW Malaysian Open. I was delighted when I
received as wildcard entry for the tournament.
“All the people here are nice me
– the tournament organisers, club staff and player services. I can have no
complains, not even on the weather.
The world No. 45 reckoned her
living in the Gold Coast in Australia makes her love the weather here. “The
sunshine basically helps me,” said Jarmilla.
Those who were present during
last year’s BMW Malaysian Open will know her better as Jarmilla Groth. She was
a crowd favourite but she was stopped in her tracks in the last four stage by
eventual losing finalist Lucie Safarova of Czech Republic .
But it was after the BMW
Malaysian Open last year that tested the resolve of this player.
For her two year marriage to her
tennis-playing husband Sam Groth ended and some even went on to question her
loyalty to Australia.
Any lesser a person would have
folded, but not Jarmilla who took all in her stride, letting the tennis courts
become her sanctuary.
She hit a career high of 25 a
month after the break-up and revealed that it was tennis that got her back into
facing reality.
However with a top 20
ranking in sight, she suffered from illness during the North American hardcourt
season and the rest of 2011 unraveled.The now world No.40 suffered further dents to her confidence during the Australian summer, including a 6-0 6-0 loss to Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli at the Hopman Cup and first round exit at the Australian Open.
Speaking on her expectations this
year, the BMW Malaysian Open fourth seed believes it will be tough to make the
later stages considering the strong field this year.
“The draw is tough and the
stronger field this year makes it more difficult. But it is great to have all
the players here. The organisers are doing a great job. That is probably the
reason the likes of Jelena Jankovic (Serbia) and Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland)
chose to play,” she added.
Jarmilla will have to juggle
between the singles and doubles in the BMW Malaysian Open as she has opted to
partner compatriot Casey Dellacqua in the doubles competition.
They are tops seeds and have
moved into quarterfinals after defeating the French-Chinese combination of
Iryna Bremond and Kheng Sasai.
“It’s not really hard to balance
between the two as I have partnered Casey before. I thought it would be fun to
do it again so we are giving it shot in Kuala Lumpur. There should be enough recovery time for me,”
said Jarmilla.
