Australian tennis star
Ajla Tomljanovic has stated that she
is looking forward to put the injury setbacks behind and start fresh in the
upcoming Australian Open.
The 30-year-old has struggled with fitness concerns over the
last 10 months. Tomljanovic was recently quoted in a report where she admitted
that she could not live in the past and also stated optimism of getting back to
her best very soon.
“I honestly do believe that I can get back to that level [of
contending for slams] if I get healthy, which I believe I’m already there,” she
said. “Maybe there’s 15 per cent left that I still need to get back to, but I
think it is within my reach.
“I’d be lying if this year there haven’t been random moments
where I was with my team and I’m like, ‘this is just so unlucky what happened
because I was at my best and I got so unlucky. You can’t control this injury,
and the doubt and the fear was always that maybe this will be it.
“But I can’t live in the past, and I felt stupid calling it
unfair when there were wars happening in the world and kids dying. I very
quickly got it out of my system. I just want to accept it and move forward and
just believe that if I get healthy I can still play my best tennis. If I didn’t
think that, I probably wouldn’t keep trying.”
The Zagreb-born further went on to state that she is eyeing
at least a quarterfinal spot in the first Grand Slam of the year.
“I don’t feel like I’m 30, even though I am,” she said. “I
know my body doesn’t lie, but having just a few setbacks over the years, I do
feel very fresh in my mind. Coming into the early summer, I believe that
special things can happen.
“Yeah, it would be amazing to make quarters or more in
Melbourne. But I also am kind of going back to being just a kid playing again
because I’m excited to just be part of these events again because you don’t
know how well you’re going to do until you step on the court.”