A viral illness knocked Caroline Wozniacki out of Doha and Dubai.

The 14th-ranked Dane had a simple reaction to her slow start this season: it sucks.

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"Yeah, it sucks, if we're being honest," Wozniacki told the media in Dubai after her withdrawal on Monday. "I prepared, I've gotten ready to play these two weeks, and two weeks I usually play well in. It's two hard court tournaments. They fit my game well. It's good speed for my game.

"It sucks. I was hoping that maybe taking a little bit of time to myself and just trying to recover, I was hoping I was going to be ready to play today. I just wasn't."

The 2011 Dubai champion has not played since falling to Maria Sharapova in the Australian Open third round. Wozniacki, who has posted a 3-2 record on the season, is aiming to get back on track during the upcoming American spring hard-court season.

The former No. 1 is defending only 130 ranking points at next month's Indian Wells and Miami tournaments. A year ago, Wozniacki reached the round of 16 at Indian Wells and lost her Miami opener to Monica Puig.

"I just have to, yeah, stay positive, try and do everything in my power to get better," Wozniacki said. "Then Indian Wells, Miami is right around the corner, but thankfully not right around the corner. I'm hoping to be 100 percent for both of those. I'll just go out there and do my best."

Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve