KEY POINTS:
Marina Erakovic carries the full weight of New Zealand tennis expectations on her shoulders and in a wonderful year so far that will include an Olympic tilt, she is making light work of the load.
They do turn up now and then, genuine Kiwi tennis players. Not often,
but just often enough to raise renewed interest in the niche sport.
The Beijing Games are fast approaching and among the hopeful Kiwi competitors from outside the traditional Olympic lanes is the rising star of our erratic racquet world.
The Olympics have arrived at almost the perfect time to further announce that Erakovic has arrived, perhaps hastening the point at which she will need no further introduction.
Erakovic's name, you feel, has already moved from the tip of the tongue towards everybody's lips.
The Olympics are an intriguing but still tough prospect for someone whose form has been good enough to sneak them into the world top 50. (The field of 64 will be weakened a touch because the national limit of four will eliminate a handful of gun Russians).
The build-up wasn't going all that well this week however. Competing at the Slovenia Open not far from her birthplace of Split in Croatia, and with her parents watching, the tournament's sixth seed made a quick exit to Frenchwoman Camille Pin, and suffered the same fate in the doubles.
The Herald spoke to Erakovic after both matches, and despite the disappointment she couldn't have been more accommodating.
"I am aware of it, I get feedback from friends and family," she says, when asked about her growing profile in New Zealand.
"I guess I carry the attention for tennis in New Zealand right now. We're a small nation and not really tennis orientated, which is a shame because tennis is a really international sport.
"I'm glad I can do something and make a bit of an impact and there are some other young ones who are coming through.
"As far as I'm concerned, I can go as far as I want to. If anyone is really focused and works hard, they can still make it even from a nation that is not really supportive of tennis."
If the 20-year-old has her way, it will be more than a bit of an impact.
Since a young age, she has dreamed of being the world number one and remains undaunted.
Her parents are Mladen, a sea captain who guides fuel tankers around our coast, and Liliana, a senior lecturer at Auckland University's business school.
They left war-torn Yugoslavia when Marina was 6 and her sister Julia 9. Marina spoke no English, and Julia could only recite a few nursery rhymes in it. But kids learn easily, and the sisters quickly guided each other into the new language.
Mladen had taken up recreational tennis in his homeland after a back injury ended his basketball days. He was followed by Julia, and four-year-old Marina tagged along. She wielded a decent racquet even if it was almost as big as she was, but it was only after arriving here that Mladen could get her into a formal coaching group.
Marina started at the top when it came to childhood tennis heroes - they were Monica Seles and Pete Sampras. But she credits her father for leading her into the game.
Chris Lewis, the Kiwi tennis great who became the Auckland junior development boss in 1997, coached her for nine years.
This partnership involved hours of practice before and after school. Following sessions that began at 5am, she would nap and awake to wonder if she had dreamed the workout.
You sense that every centimetre of the Scarbro Tennis Centre in Glen Innes, where Erakovic trained endlessly, is etched on the memory. She credits Lewis with instilling a dedicated attitude that survives today. But she wasn't just a tennis-teen.
"I wasn't like some of the other girls on the junior circuit who just played tennis all the time," says Erakovic, who attended Glendowie College.
"I really liked school _ I liked the classical studies _ and I'm very glad I finished it to the end. If I get some time I might do some university papers."
She is clearly proud of her sister _ they are very close _ who has just finished law and business studies and has started with Bell Gully.
They don't see all that much of each other of late because tennis is taking Marina around the world.
Last year, she did a seven-month stretch overseas, and was out of the country for a total of nine months. She will be away even longer this year.
Such is the life of a tennis pro, and an enormously exciting one for someone who is pushing towards fulfilling her dreams.
The catalyst for her rise perhaps was a victory over world No 22 and top seed Vera Zvonareva to make the Auckland Classic semifinals this year although it only brought forward a confidence that was lying in wait.
"I always felt that sooner or later, I was going to get there. Auckland just kick started that," she says.
Since Lewis moved to the States in 2005, Erakovic has been coached by the 48-year-old Dutchman Michiel Schapers, a former world No 25. Erakovic met Schapers in her junior New Zealand representative days when he was in charge of the Dutch team and coached her doubles partner Michaella Krajicek.
It was his personality that struck a good chord.
"I trained with some of the Dutch players but I never really thought about the way he coached," she says.
"He was always a bit of an outgoing person, making some jokes. I thought what he said was good but I never thought at the time he would be my coach one day." The partnership is working well and it may be significant that Schapers wasn't in Slovenia.
Chief among her springboards has been a third round appearance at Wimbledon.
Breaking into the top 50 has opened up undisclosed sponsorship opportunities, given her a direct path into Grand Slams, and eliminated the onerous business of qualifying for tournaments.
Some things won't change however, she hopes.
Mladen manages her career, and she doesn't want that to change.
"It's always nice to have someone you know really well working for your best interests. If he wants to continue I'll be happy," she says.
Erakovic next plays in Stockholm, before heading to Beijing next month.
She says: "I have to be realistic about the Olympics and it depends a bit on what sort of draw I get. But when I go into a tournament I want to win it."
MARINA ERAKOVIC ON ...
Relaxing away from tennis
"I have a little guitar just a bit bigger than my racquet that I sometimes travel with. I've been missing it lately but I think it will go to the Olympics with me. I like to play a lot of different stuff _ The Killers, Guns N' Roses, No Doubt. I hear something I like and look up how to play it. I've got an electric guitar at home. My friends and I joke we'll start a band. I can partly play guitar, one friend can partly play the drums, and the other two can't play anything so it's a hopeless scenario. Other than that I like to read, go to movies, swim, just chill out, all the normal things."
Most admired players
"Justine Henin. She had a lot of variation in her game like I do _ she was a point creator. It's a shame she has retired. I love to watch Roger Federer. He is just perfect all the time _ he even looks great off the court. He is a real pro _ a great ambassador for tennis."
Chris Lewis
"He was my coach for so long _ we keep in touch and I see him in the States when I play at Indian Wells which is near where he lives. He could still hit the ball so well and we used to play some great rallies. Being a Wimbledon finalist, it was such a thrill to play against him. He still gives me coaching tips."
A career highpoint
"I can't nail that down to one thing. Breaking into the top 50 is a highlight but I'm sure there is going to be a lot more to come."
The importance of her Croatian heritage
"Yes and no. I don't really have a huge family over there. I've grown up in New Zealand, all my friends are there, and I can't say I'm really connected to Croatia, although I've been back four or five times. The old Yugoslavia wasn't a good place and my parents wanted to leave and New Zealand was an option. They went for it and I'm so glad because it is a great place to live and grow up."
An Olympic competitor she'd like to meet
"I haven't thought about that _ it would be great to see the sprinters, high jumpers, long jumpers, the athletes. I've always liked watching that on telly and if I get a chance I'd love to see them compete."
