Caroline Wozniacki begins her quest to regain the world number one ranking in Dubai against Anna Chakvetadze.
Wozniacki can actually push Kim Clijsters back off the top spot if she reaches the semi-finals this week. However with a vast prize pot pulling in a super strong field, the Dane will need to be near her best to reach the latter stages.
After a first round bye she opens against Chakvetadze, a former top five player herself who ousted a jetlagged Daniela Hantuchova, fresh from winning the Pattaya City title at the weekend.
Chakvetadze looked pretty sharp, winning 6-1, 6-3 and she will look to give Wozniacki a tough battle having pushed her to three sets in all of their matches. Both players are speedy counter-punchers who emphasize consistency and in past matches they have almost cancelled each other out at times.
Wozniacki leads 3-0 on the head-to-head, winning 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 in Copenhagen last year but she will be well aware she's in for the long haul today.
