World No 1 Amelie Mauresmo said Tuesday she expected to be fully fit in time to start the defence of her WTA Tour Championship title here from November 6-12. The French stylist was forced to withdraw ahead of her quarter-final tie against Daniela Hantuchova in Zurich last week because of an injured shoulder.
"I am not yet at 100 percent and I am not actually playing yet," she told reporters in Madrid. "But I hope to be back on court by the end of the week and to be fully fit for Madrid. "My shoulder is better. I hope I will play until the end of the week.
The Australian and Wimbledon champion said she expected the tournament, which brings together the top eight players in the world on a round-robin basis, to be very open. "Maria (Sharapova) is in great shape. She has just won in Zurich coming after her win in the US Open. "And we will have to see how fit Justine (Henin-Hardenne) is after she injured a calf muscle."
Mauresmo, Sharapova and Henin-Hardenne are all in line to clinch the world No 1 spot for the end of the year, although Mauresmo said that winning big tournaments was more important to her than topping the world rankings. "Winning tournaments is more emotional and is really something special," she said.
"If I finish the year top ranked then I will be happy, but you just can't compare that to winning Wimbledon or winning the Masters in Los Angeles last year." Mauresmo previously had a reputation as a player liable to choke when the going got tough in major encounters, but she says she has finally thrown off the problem this year.