Angelique Kerber said on Sunday that reviving her flagging fortunes on tour is her main priority rather than reclaiming the world No 1 ranking from Serena Williams at the Dubai Tennis Championships.

Germany's two-time Grand Slam champion took over top spot last September when she won the US Open, but she promptly relinquished the crown in Melbourne last month after Williams won the Australian Open, reclaiming her long-held No 1 ranking in the process.

Now Kerber, who was bounced in the fourth round in Melbourne by Coco Vandeweghe of the US, is determined to prove she can still pose a threat on a regular basis.

"I was not feeling good last week in Doha," Kerber said on Sunday as she prepared to start the second round in Dubai as top seed.

"My body was not at 100 per cent, but I'm practicing well."

Kerber lost her opening match in rain-soaked Qatar, going down in three sets to promising Russian teenager Daria Kasatkina.

"I must bring that good feeling from the practice courts to the matches. It is just one or two matches that can change it because I am really feeling good."

Kerber is playing in the Dubai main draw for the fifth time but has never advanced beyond the third round.

She is working to keep the ranking permutations out of her mind.

"It is more important to play my tennis and to find my rhythm again," she said.

"That is what counts for me. I will give my best to win a lot more matches and then we will see if I can get back to No 1."

AFP