Andrea Petkovic is the first of the global stars due in town for The Brisbane International. Source: Peter Wallis / News Limited
INJURIES suffered in Australia mean effervescent Andrea Petkovic no longer feels like dancing on the tennis court.
Petkovic's lithe dance steps to celebrate a win became common sights on the WTA Tour in 2011 when she reached a career-high ranking of No.9, finishing runner-up at the Brisbane International and ambushing Maria Sharapova at the Australian Open.
When Australians ask Petkovic how she is, it is not small talk.
Petkovic left Australia last summer with a knee injury which saw her off the tour until April.
The extra baggage from her previous visit in 2012 was a back injury, ruling the German out of the Australian Open and requiring three months on the sidelines.
Petkovic is one of the first foreign players to arrive for the Brisbane International, hitting on Sunday at the Queensland Tennis Centre, where she was a runner-up in 2011 and a quarter-finalist in 2012.
"Australians ask me if I still like Australia now, but I still love Australia,'' she said.
"There are bad memories - I also injured my knee here in 2008 - but on the other hand I played in my first quarters at a Grand Slam at the Australian Open (in 2011).
Andrea Petkovic celebrates a win by making a gun shape with her hand .... Source: News Limited
"I like to come to Brisbane early because I have family and friends here, so I enjoy this more than going somewhere to practice.''
The 26-year-old's ranking improved from No.177 to No.43 during 2013 and while a $100,000 ITF tournament in France was her only title, she did lower the colours of two experienced Brisbane International entrants, world No.8 Jelena Jankovic and 33rd ranked Daniela Hantuchova, in matches.
"I retired my dance last year after all my injuries. I didn't feel like dancing,'' she said.
"Who knows? It might come back in happy Australia, I don't know.
"A lot of people thought I would quit after the third injury or maybe the fourth. I hear a lot of people saying when they get injured 'I never stopped believing in myself'. That wasn't true for me at all. I doubt myself every day and I still do.
"But I never stop wanting it - I still had the guts to practice and do rehab because I love competing. I thought being injured was not the way to end it. I have to end it on a bigger note.
"Hopefully I will get back to Germany back in one piece after the last three years.''
... and finishes it off by pretending to blow smoke away from her 'pistol'. Source: News Limited
Petkovic said as an unseeded player at Tennyson, she had to become attuned again to the possibility of being drawn against one of the six top-10 entrants.
"But that's OK for me. I am here to have really good matches and prepared for the Aussie Open,'' she said.
* Sharapova will bring the on-court practice of only one exhibition match when she plays her first tournament since August at the QTC.
It had been reported that Sharapova, who was hampered by shoulder and hip ailments, would play exhibitions in Mexico and Thailand on top of her one match, in early December against Ana Ivanovic in Colombia.
But these appearances seem to have been deleted from her schedule and she will now fly from the United States to Brisbane without playing in Thailand.
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