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Perth - World number one Caroline Wozniacki says she is in good shape for the upcoming Australian Open, despite losing to the Czech Republic's Petra Kvitova at the Hopman Cup on Friday.
Wozniacki was beaten in three sets by the woman tipped to usurp her spot at the top of women's tennis in 2012, but dismissed any concerns about her form just over a week away from the year's first Grand Slam.
The second-ranked Kvitova won the top of the rankings clash at the mixed teams Hopman Cup, 7-6 (7/4), 3-6, 6-4, but the 21-year-old Dane was satisfied with how she was progressing towards Melbourne.
Wozniacki said her form against Kvitova was a vast improvement on her previous two singles matches here, even though she won those two encounters.
"I didn't feel like I was playing my best tennis in my first two matches, but I worked on some things yesterday that I wanted to improve," she said.
"I felt like we both played some good tennis out there and it could have gone either way.
"I feel like my form is starting to go up and I always play better with a few matches under my belt."
Wozniacki struggled to victory against 55th-ranked Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Tsvetana Pironkova, 46 in the world, and although beaten by Kvitova, she played her best tennis of the week against the Czech.
She rounds up her Australian Open preparation in Sydney next week, where she could again face Kvitova, and said she expected to continue to improve.
"I think I am fine," she said.
"I am hitting the ball pretty well and I still have over a week before the Australian Open starts."
